eleanor  ormerod,  ll.d. 

economic  entomologist 
©obauto-biography  and 
correspondence  sob^sob 


GIFT  OF 
Dr.   T.    I.   Storer 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
.    in  2007  with  funding  from 
IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/eleanorormerodllOOormerich 


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ELEANOR  ORMEROD,  LL.D. 

ECONOMIC  ENTOMOLOGIST.  AUTO- 
BIOGRAPHY   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

EDITED  BY  ROBERT  WALLACE 

PROFESSOR    OF    AGRICULTURE    AND    RURAL    ECONOMY 
IN    THE    UNIVERSITY    OF    EDINBURGH 


WITH    PORTRAIT    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS 


NEW    YORK 

E.    P.    DUTTON    AND    COMPANY 

31  WEST  TWENTY-THIRD  STREET 

1904 


DEDICATED 

TO   ALL 

MISS   ORMERODS   CORRESPONDENTS 

IN 

ECONOMIC  ENTOMOLOGY. 


PREFACE 


The  idea  that  Miss  Ormerod  should  write  her  biography 
originated  with  the  present  writer  during  one  of  many  visits 
paid  to  her  at  St.  Albans.  Miss  Ormerod  had  unfolded  in 
charming  language  and  with  admirable  lucidity  and  fluency 
some  interesting  chapters  of  her  personal  experiences  and 
reminiscences.  The  first  working  plan  of  the  project  in- 
volved the  concealment  of  a  shorthand  writer  behind  a 
screen  in  the  dining-room  while  dinner  was  proceeding, 
and  while  the  examination  of  ethnological  specimens  or 
other  attractive  objects  gave  place  for  a  time  to  general 
conversation  on  subjects  grown  interesting  by  age. 
Although  the  shorthand  writer  was  selected  and  is  several 
times  referred  to  in  letters  written  about  this  period 
(pp.  304-7),  Miss  Ormerod,  on  due  reflection,  felt  that 
the  presence,  though  unseen,  of  a  stranger  at  these  meet- 
ings in  camera  would  make  the  position  unnatural,  and 
dislocate  the  association  of  ideas  to  the  detriment  of  the 
narrative. 

She  then  bethought  herself  of  the  method  of  writing 
down  at  leisure  moments,  from  time  to  time  as  a  suitable 
subject  occurred  to  her,  rough  notes  (p.  122)  to  be  elaborated 
later,  and  when  after  a  time  a  subject  had  been  exhausted, 
the  rough  notes  were  re-written  and  welded  into  a  narrative 
(pp.  304-21).  Some  four  or  five  of  the  early  chapters  were 
thus  treated  and  then  typewritten,  but  the  remainder  of 
the  Autobiography  was  left  in  crude  form,  requiring  much 
piecing  together  and  editorial  trimming.  Had  the  book 
been  produced  on  the  original  plan,  it  was  proposed  to  name 
it  "  Recollections  of  Changing  Times."  ^  It  would  have 
dealt  with  a  number  of  subjects  of  general  interest,  such  as 
the  history  of  the  Post  Office,  early  records  of  floods  and 

'  See  letter  to  the  Editor  dated  June  14,  1900,  p.  304. 

r 


99/9 


vi  PREFACE 

earthquakes,  as  well  as  newspapers  of  early  date.  The  intro- 
duction of  Miss  Ormerod's  letters  to  a  few  of  her  leading 
correspondents  was  made  necessary  by  the  lack  of  other 
suitable  material.  The  present  volume  is  still  mainly  the  pro- 
duct of  Miss  Ormerod's  pen,  but  with  few  exceptions  general 
subjects  have  been  eliminated  ;  and  it  forms  much  more 
a  record  of  her  works  and  ways  than  it  would  have  done 
had  she  been  spared  to  complete  it.  From  the  inception  of 
the  idea  the  present  writer  was  appointed  editor,  but  had 
Miss  Ormerod  lived  to  see  the  book  in  the  hands  of  the 
public  his  share  of  work  would  have  been  light  indeed. 
Armed  with  absolute  authority  from  her  (p.  318)  to  use  his 
discretion  in  the  work,  he  has  exercised  his  editorial  license 
in  making  minor  alterations  without  brackets  or  other  evi- 
dences of  the  editorial  pen,  while  at  the  same  time  the 
integrity  of  the  substance  has  been  jealously  guarded. 

As  in  Miss  Ormerod's  correspondence  with  experts  only 
scientific  names  for  insects  and  other  scientific  objects  were 
employed,  it  was  found  expedient  to  introduce  the  common 
names  within  ordinary  or  round  brackets.  Much  thought 
and  care  have  been  given  to  the  arrangement  of  the  letters, 
and  a  sort  of  compromise  was  adopted  of  three  different 
methods  that  came  up  for  consideration,  viz.,  (i)  accord- 
ing to  chronological  order,  (2)  according  to  the  subjects 
discussed,  and  (3)  grouping  under  the  names  of  the  indi- 
viduals to  whom  they  were  addressed.  While  the  third  is 
the  predominant  feature  of  the  scheme  the  chronological 
order  has  been  maintained  within  the  personal  groups, 
and  precedence  in  the  book  was  generally  given  to 
the  letters  of  the  oldest  date.  At  the  same  time,  to  com- 
plete a  subject  in  one  group  written  mainly  to  one  corre- 
spondent, letters  dealing  with  the  subject  under  discussion 
have  been  borrowed  from  their  natural  places  under  the 

heading  of  ^^  Letters  to  Dr.  "  or  **  Letters  to  Mr. ." 

While  Miss  Ormerod's  practice  of  referring  to  matters  of 
minor  importance  and  of  purely  personal  interest  in 
correspondence  dealing  mainly  with  definite  lines  of  scien- 
tific research,  has  not  been  interfered  with  in  a  few  instances, 
in  most  of  the  other  groups  of  letters  on  technical  subjects 
editorial  pruning  was  freely  practised  to  prevent  confusion 
and  to  concentrate  the  subject  matter.  The  chief  exceptions 
occur  in  the  voluminous  and  interesting  correspondence 
with  Dr.  Fletcher,  in  her  specially  confidential  letters  to  Dr. 
Bethune,  and  in  the  very  general  correspondence  with  the 
editor.      It  was  felt  that  to  remove  more  of   the  friendly 


PREFACE  vii 

references  and  passing  general  remarks  to  her  correspon- 
dents would  have  been  to  invalidate  the  letters  and  show 
the  writer  of  them  in  a  character  alien  to  her  own. 

The  figures  of  insects  which  have  been  introduced  into 
the  correspondence,  to  lighten  it  and  increase  its  interest  to 
the  reader,  have  been  chiefly  borrowed  from  Miss  Ormerod's 
published  works  ;  and  among  them  will  be  found  a  number 
of  illustrations  from  Curtis's  '^  Farm  Insects/'  for  the  use  of 
which  her  acknowledgments  were  fully  given  to  Messrs. 
Blackie,  the  publishers.^  The  contents  of  this  volume  will 
afford  ample  evidence  of  Miss  Ormerod's  intense  interest  in 
her  subject,  of  the  infinite  pains  she  took  to  investigate  the 
causes  of  injury,  and  of  the  untiring  and  unceasing  efforts 
she  employed  to  accomplish  her  object ;  also  that  her 
determinations  relative  to  the  causes  and  nature  of  parasitic 
attacks  upon  crops,  give  proof  of  soundness  of  judgment, 
and  her  advice,  chiefly  connected  with  remedial  and  pre- 
ventive treatment,  was  eminently  sensible  and  practical. 
Mainly  by  correspondence  of  the  most  friendly  kind  she 
formed  a  unique  connecting  link  between  economic 
entomologists  in  all  parts  of  the  world ;  and  she  quoted 
their  various  opinions  to  one  another  very  often  in  support 
of  her  own  preconceived  ideas. 

The  three  biographical  chapters.  III.,  XL,  and  XII.,  were 
added  to  the  autobiographical  statements  which  she  had  left, 
with  the  object  merely  of  supplying  some  missing  personal 
incidents  in  an  interesting  life.  Other  deficiencies  in  the 
Autobiography  are  made  up  by  Miss  Ormerod's  correspon- 
dence, and  the  history  of  her  work  is  permitted  to  evolve 
from  her  own  letters. 

A  strong  vein  of  humour  runs  through  many  parts  of  her 
writings,  notably  in  the  chapter  on  "  Church  and  Parish." 
The  reader  will  not  fail  to  notice  the  splendid  courtesy 
and  deference  to  scientific  authority,  as  well  as  the  fullest 
appreciation  of  and  unselfish  sympathy  with  the  genuine 
scientific  work  of  others,  which  pervades  all  she  wrote. 
Prominent  among  these  characteristics  of  Miss  Ormerod 
should  be  placed  her  scrupulous  honesty  of  purpose  in 
acknowledging  to  the  fullest  extent  the  work  of  others. 

The  work  of  collecting  material,  sifting,  and  editing  has 
been  going  on  for  nearly  two  years,  and  could  never  have 
been  accomplished  but  for  the  kindly  help  rendered  by  so 
many  of  Miss  Ormerod's  correspondents,  all  of  whom   I 

'  Figs.  C.  and  D.  (pp.  i6o  and  162)  are  borrowed  from  Yarrell's 
British  Birds  by  permission  of  Messrs.  Gurney  &  Jackson. 


viii  PREFACE 

now  cordially  thank  for  invaluable  sympathetic  assistance. 
Special  acknowledgments  are  due  to  Sir  Wm.  Henry  Marling, 
Bart.,  the  present  owner  of  Sedbury  Park,  and  to  Miss 
Ormerod's  nephews  and  nieces,  who  have  been  delighted  to 
render  such  assistance  as  could  not  have  been  found  outside 
the  family  circle.  Besides  Mr.  Grimshaw,  Mr.  Janson,  Dr. 
Stewart  MacDougall,  Professor  Hudson  Beare,  and  Mr.  T.  P. 
Newman  who  read  the  proofs  critically,  last,  but  not  least, 
do  I  thank  Mr.  John  Murray,  whose  friendly  reception  of 
the  first  overtures  made  to  him  as  the  prospective  pub- 
lisher of  this  volume  brightened  some  of  the  dark  moments 
near  the  close  of  Miss  Ormerod's  life.  I  have  had  as  editor 
the  much  appreciated  privilege  of  drawing,  in  all  cases  of 
difficulty,  upon  Mr.  Murray's  great  literary  experience. 

In  making  these  pleasing  acknowledgments  I  in  no  way 
wish  to  shift  the  responsibility  as  Editor  from  my  own 
shoulders  for  defects  which  may  be  discovered  or  for  the 
general  scheme  of  the  work,  which  was,  with  slight  modifi- 
cations, my  own.  If  it  be  said  in  criticism  that  the  Editor 
is  too  little  in  evidence,  I  shall  be  all  the  more  satisfied,  as 
that  has  been  throughout  one  of  his  leading  aims. 

ROBERT    WALLACE. 

University  of  Edinburgh, 
1904. 


LIST    OF    ERRATA. 

Page    70,  line  31,  for  "  Tenebroides"  read  "  Tenebrioides." 
„     130,     „    II,  ior  "  Ceutorhyncus"  read  "CeutJwrhyncus." 
„      „       in   description  of  Fig.    14,  for  "  Ceutorhyxcus  "  read 

"  Ceuthorhyxxus." 
„     144,  line    7,  for  "importad"  read  **  imported." 
„     185,     „       I,  for  "  Lucania"  rea.d '^  Leucania." 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER    I 

PAGE 

BIRTH,    CHILDHOOD   AND    EDUCATION I 

Born  at  Sedbury  Park,  May,  1828  —  Recollections  of  early 
childhood — First  insect  observation — Girlish  occupations — 
Education  of  the  family — Eleanor  Ormerod's  education  at 
home  by  her  mother — Interests  during  hours  of  leisure. 


CHAPTER    n 
PARENTAGE    7 

Localities  of  Sedbury  Park  and  Tyldesley,  the  properties  of 
George  Ormerod — Roman  remains — The  family  of  Ormerod 
since  13 11 — Three  George  Ormerods  of  Bury — Reference 
to  "  Parentalia  "  by  George  Ormerod — The  alliance  of  the 
family  with  the  heiress,  Elizabeth  Johnson  of  Tyldesley — 
"  Tyldesley's  "  experiences  during  the  Stewart  rebellion  in 
1745 — Descent  from  Thomas  Johnson  of  Tyldesley — George 
Ormerod,  father  of  Miss  Ormerod  —  John  Latham,  fellow 
and  president  of  the  Royal  College  of  Physicians,  London, 
maternal  grandfather  of  Miss  Ormerod  —  Connection  with 
the  Ardernes  of  Alvanley  and  descent  from  Edward  L — The 
right  of  the  Ormerod  family  to  the  "  Port  Fellowship  "  of 
Brasenose  College. 

CHAPTER   III 

REMINISCENCES   OF   SEDBURY   BY   MISS    DIANA    LATHAM  .         I4 

The  Ormerod  family  of  ten — The  father  and  mother  and 
their  respective  interests  in  literature  and  art — Sedbury  Park 
and  the  hobbies  of  its  inmates — Paucity  of  congenial  neigh- 
bours— Annual  visit  to  London — Drives  and  Excursions — - 
The  elder  and  the  younger  sections  of  the  famil}^ — Eleanor 
Ormerod's  favourite  sister,  Georgiana — Interest  in  natural 
history  and  medicine — Miss  Ormerod  at  twenty -five — Routine 
of  life  at  Sedbury — Drawings  by  Mrs.  Ormerod — The  Library 
— Music — Models — Separation  of  the  family. 


X  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   IV 

PAGE 

CHURCH    AND    PARISH 20 

Tidenham  parish  church  —  Leaden  font  —  The  Norman 
Chapel  of  Llancaut  —  The  history  of  Tidenham  Church — 
Curious  practices  in  neighbouring  churches — The  church  as 
schoolroom  —  Pretty  customs  on  special  occasions — The 
discomforts  of  the  usual  service — The  choral  service  on  high 
days — No  reminiscences  of  precocious  piety — Impressions 
of  sermons  by  Scobell  and  Whately — Clerical  eccentricities 
in  dress,  &c. — The  Oxford  Movement — Dr.  Armstrong — 
Raising  the  latch  of  the  chancel  door  with  a  ruler — The 
woman's  Clothing  Club  of  the  parish  —  Lending  library 
instituted  and  successfully  managed  by  Miss  G.  E.  Ormerod— 
Her  accomplishments  and  merits  as  a  philanthropist. 


CHAPTER   V 
SEVERN   AND   WYE 33 

"  Forest  Peninsula  "  between  Severn  and  Wye  —  Ruined 
chapel  of  St.  Tecla — Muddy  experiences — Scenery  on  the 
Severn  —  Rise  of  Tides — Colour  and  width  of  the  river — 
Sailing  merchant  flieet  to  and  from  Gloucester — A  "  pill  "  or 
creek  —  Salmon  fishing  from  boats  —  "  Putcher  "  or  basket 
fishing — Disorderly  conduct  by  fishermen — Finds  of  Natural 
History  specimens  in  fishing  baskets — Severn  clay  or  "mud" 
— A  bottle-nosed  whale — Seaweeds — Fossils  from  Sedbury 
cliffs — Saurian  remains — Dangers  of  the  cliffs. 


CHAPTER   VI 
TRAVELLING   BY   COACH,    FERRY,   AND    RAILWAY     ...         43 

Many  coaches  passing  Sedbury  Park  gates — Dangers  of 
travelHng  —  View  of  the  Severn  valley — The  Old  Ferry 
passage  of  the  Severn  —  Swamping  of  a  sailing  boat  in 
1838 — A  strange  custom  when  rabies  was  feared — Window- 
shutter-Hke  ferry  telegraph  —  The  ferry  piers — The  first 
railways — Curious  early  train  experiences. 


CHAPTER   VII 
CHARTIST    RISING    IN    MONMOUTHSHIRE    IN    1839    ...         47 

Chartist  rising  in  Monmouth  under  John  Frost,  ex-draper  of 
Newport — Home  experience — Defenceless  state  of  Sedbury 
house — Trial  and  sentence  of  the  leaders — Reminiscences  of 
troubles — Attorney-General's  address  to  the  jury — Physical 
features  of  the  disturbed  area — Plan  of  the  rising — Prompt 
action  of  the  Mayor  of  Newport — Thirty  soldiers  stationed 
in  the  Westgate  Hotel  —  Advance  of  5,000  rioters  —  Their 
spirited  repulse  and  dispersal — Arrest  and  punishment  of 
Frost  and  other  leaders. 


CONTENTS  xi 


CHAPTER  VIII 


PAGE 


BEGINNING  THE  STUDY  OF  ENTOMOLOGY,  COLLECTIONS  OF 
ECONOMIC  ENTOMOLOGICAL  SPECIMENS,  AND  FAMILY 
DISPERSAL  .  -53 

Beginning  of  Entomology  1852 — A  rare  locust — Purchase  of 
Stephen's  "  Manual  of  British  Beetles  "  —  Method  of  self- 
instruction  —  First  collection  of  Economic  Entomology 
specimens  sent  to  Paris — Facilities  at  Sedbury  for  collection 
— Aid  given  by  labourers  and  their  children  in  collecting — 
Illness  and  death  of  Miss  Ormerod's  father — Succession  and 
early  death  of  Venerable  Thomas  J.  Ormerod — Succession 
of  the  Rev.  G.  T.  B.  Ormerod — Miss  Ormerod's  brothers — 
Especial  copy  of  "History  of  Cheshire"  presented  to  the 
Bodleian  Library — A  family  heirloom. 

CHAPTER    IX 

COMMENCEMENT    AND     PROGRESS    OF    ANNUAL    REPORTS     OF 

OBSERVATIONS   OF    INJURIOUS    INSECTS  ...         59 

Preliminary  pamphlet  issued  in  1877 — Explanation  of  the 
objects  aimed  at— Approval  of  the  public  and  of  the  press — 
Changes  in  the  original  arrangement  of  the  subject  matter 
— Classification  of  facts  under  headings  arranged  in  1881 — 
Sources  of  information  stated  and  fully  acknowledged — 
Adoption  of  plain  and  simple  language — Illustrations  of  first 
importance — Blackie  &  Sons  supply  electros  of  wood  en- 
gravings from  Curtis's  "  Farm  Insects  " — The  brothers  Knight 
assist — Accumulation  of  knowledge — General  Index  to  Annual 
Reports  by  Newstead — Manual  of  Injurious  Insects  and  other 
publications — Notice  of  the  discontinuance  of  the  Annual 
Reports  in  the  Report  for  1900 — "  Times  "  notice  of  "  Miss 
Ormerod's  partial  retirement  from  Entomological  Work," 
in  Appendix  B. 

CHAPTER    X 

SAMPLES   OF    LEGAL   EXPERIENCES 68 

First  employment  as  an  expert  witness  in  1889 — Case  of 
Wilkinson  v.  The  Houghton  Main  Colliery  Company,  Limited 
— Form  of  subpoena — Rusty-red  flour  beetle  infestation  in 
a  cargo  of  flour  transported  from  New  York  to  Durban — 
Report  on  insect  presence — Confirmed  by  Oliver  Janson  and 
a  Washington  expert  —  A  compromise  effected  —  Case  of 
granary  weevil  infestation  in  a  cargo  of  flour  from  San 
Francisco  to  Westport  —  Letter  of  thanks  from  William 
Simpson  of  R.  &  H.  Hall,  Limited. 

CHAPTER   XI 

BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH    BY    THE    EDITOR         •  •  •  •         73 

Reasons  for  changes  of  residence — Intimacy  with  Sir  Joseph 
and  Lady  Hooker  at  Kew — Interesting  people  met  there — 


xii  CONTENTS 

Appointed  Consulting  Entomologist  to  the  Royal  Agricultural 
Society  of  England— Insect  diagrams — Serious  carriage  acci- 
dent— Methods  adopted  in  doing  entomological  work— As  a 
meteorological  observer  —  Professor  Westwood  as  friendly 
mentor — Appreciation  of  work  by  foreign  correspondents. 


CHAPTER   XII 

BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH    BY   THE    EDITOR    (continued)      .  .         83 

Public  lectures  at  the  Royal  Agricultural  College — Reasons 
why  lecturing  was  ultimately  discontinued  —  Lectures  at 
South  Kensington  and  other  places  —  The  Economic 
Entomology  Committee — Simplicity  of  Miss  Ormerod's  home 
life  before  and  after  her  sister's  death — Programme  of  daily 
work — Welcome  guests — Intimate  friends — Sense  of  humour 
—  Story  of  a  hornet's  capture  —  Proofs  of  courage  —  His- 
torical oaks  at  Sedbury — Fond  of  children  and  thoughtful  of 
employees — Charity — Public  liberalit}^ — Subsidiary  employ- 
ments and  amusements  —  Made  LL.D.  —  Fellowships  of 
societies — Medals — Treatment  of  letters. 

CHAPTER    XIII 

LETTERS     TO      COLONEL     COUSSMAKER      AND       MR.      ROBERT 

SERVICE 99 

{Coiissmaker)  Insect  diagrams  Royal  Agricultural  Society — 
Surface  caterpillars  —  Wood  leopard  moth  —  Puss  moth. 
{Service) — Paper  by  "Mabie  Moss"  on  hill  grubs  of  the 
Antler  moth — The  pest  checked  by  parasites. 

CHAPTER   XIV 

LETTERS    TO    MR.    WM.    BAILEY I09 

Mr.  Bailey's  letter  to  H.G.  the  Duke  of  Westminster  on  Ox 
warble  fly — Letter  showing  the  destruction  of  Ox  warbles 
by  the  boys  —  R.A.S.E.  recognition  —  Annual  letter  and 
cheque  for  five  guineas  for  prizes  in  insect  work — Looper 
caterpillars  —  Mr.  Bailey's  method  of  teaching  agricultural 
entomology  —  Economic  entomology  exhibit  at  Bath  and 
West  Society's  Show,  St.  Albans — Examinership  at  Edin- 
burgh University — The  royal  party  at  the  show — Cheese  fly 
maggot — Copies  of  Manual  for  free  distribution — Presentation 
slips — LL.D.  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh — Discontinuing 
coUeagueship. 

CHAPTER   XV 

LETTERS    TO    MR.    D.    D.    GIBB 128 

Great  tortoiseshell  butterfly  infestation — Charlock  weevil — 
Gout  fly — Forest  fly — Structure  of  its  foot — Great  gadfly — 
Horse  breeze  flies — Deer  forest  fly  in  Scotland — Sheep  forest 
fly — Hessian  fly  and  elbowed  wheat  straw — Bean  seed  beetles 


CONTENTS  xiii 

PAGE 

— Millepedes — American  blight — Brickdust-like  deposit  on 
apple  trees  —  Insect  cases  for  the  show  at  St.  Albans — 
Specimens  of  forest  fly  chloroformed  —  Death  from  fly 
poisoning — Looper  caterpillars — Diamond  back  moth — Corn 
sawfly. 


CHAPTER   XVI 

LETTERS       TO        MR.       GRIMSHAW,      MR.       WISE,      AND       MR. 

TEGETMEIER .       I49 

(Grimshaw)  The  Red-bearded  botfly — Deer  forest  fly — Ox 
and  deer  warble  flies.  (Wise)  Case  of  caddis  worms  injuring 
cress-beds— Enemies  and  means  of  prevention  —  Moles — 
Black  currant  mites — Biggs'  prevention — Dr.  Nalepa's  views 
— Attack-resisting  varieties  of  currants  from  Budapest — 
Dr.  Ritzema  Bos's  views — Mite-proof  currants  —  Woburn 
report  on  gall  mites  —  Narcissus  fly — Lappet  moth  cater- 
pillars. (Tegetmeier)  Scheme  of  Miss  Ormerod's  leaflet  on 
the  house  sparrow  plague — Earlier  authorities — Enormous 
success  of  the  free  distribution  of  the  leaflet — Miss  Carring- 
ton's  opposition  pamphlet — One  hundred  letters  in  a  day 
received — Unfounded  nature  of  opposition  exposed,  including 
Scripture  reference  to  sparrows  —  Fashionable  support  — 
1,500  letters  classified  and  100  filed  for  future  use — "The 
House  Sparrow  "  by  W.  B.  Tegetmeier,  with  Appendix  by 
Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 


CHAPTER   XVII 

LETTERS      TO     MR.     MARTIN,     MR.     GEORGE,    MR.     COXNOLD, 

AND    MESSRS.    COLEMAN    AND   SONS       ....       169 

{Martin)  Elm  bark  beetle — Ash  bark  beetle — Large  ash  bark 
beetle — Galleries  —  Preventive  measure.  {George)  Mason 
bee — Roman  coin  found  near  Sedbury — Samian  cup — The 
family  grave.  {Connold) — Pocket  or  bladder  plums — Pro- 
fessor Ward  describes,  the  fungus — Dr.  Nalepa's  publica- 
tions. {Coleman  and  Sons)  Attack  of  caterpillars  of  the  silver 
Y-moth — Origin  of  the  name. 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

LETTERS   TO    PROFESSOR    RILEY   AND    DR.    HOWARD  .  .       179 

{Riley)  Flour  moth  caterpillars — Differences  of  mineral  oils 
—  Trapping  the  winter  moth — Orchard-growers  Experi- 
mental Committee.  {Howard)  John  Curtis,  Author  of  "  Farm 
Insects" — Advance  of  Economic  Entomology — C.  P.  Louns- 
bury,  Cape  Town — Sparrow  Leaflet — Shot-borer  beetles — 
Fly  weevil — Lesser  earwig — Handbook  of  Orchard  Insects 
— General  Index — Flour  Moths — Snail  slug — Flat-worm — 
Tick — Degree  of  LL.D.  of  Edinburgh  University. 


xiv  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   XIX 

PAGE 

LETTERS   TO    DR.    J.    FLETCHER I95 

Dr.  Voelcker's  gas  lime  pamphlet — Honorary  membership 
of  Entomological  Society  of  Ontario — Ostrich  fly — "  Sil  vertop  " 
in  wheat— The  "Crovvder"  —  Mill  or  flour  moth— Shot- 
borers — Progress  of  Agricultural  Entomology — Paris-green 
as  an  insecticide — End  of  Board  of  Agriculture  work — 
"Manual  of  Injurious  Insects" — Fruit-growers'  associations 
— Lesson  book  for  village  schools — Entomology  lectures 
in  Edinburgh — Stem  eel-worms— Miss  Georgiana's  insect 
diagrams — Mr.  A.  Crawford's  death  in  Adelaide— Diamond- 
back  moth — Insects  survive  freezing — Resigned  post  of 
Consulting  Entomologist  of  R.x\.S.E. — Finger  and  toe — 
Baroness  Burdett  Coutts — Gall  and  club-roots — Currant 
scale — Mustard  beetle — Professor  Rilev. 


CHAPTER  XX 

LETTERS    TO     DR.    J.     FLETCHER     {continued)    AND     TO      DR. 

BETHUNE 217 

{Fletcher)  Foreign  authorities  in  correspondence — Dr. 
Nalepa's  books — Silk  moths — Red  spider — Formalin  as  a 
disinfectant — Professor  Riley's  resignation — "  Agricultural 
Zoology"  by  Dr.  Ritzema  Bos — Ground  Beetles  on  Straw- 
berries—  Timberman  beetle  —  Proposal  to  endow  Agri- 
cultural lectureship  in  Oxford  or  Cambridge  —  Legacy 
of  ;^5,ooo  to  Edinburgh  University  —  Woburn  Experi- 
mental Fruit  Grounds — Insects  in  a  mild  winter — Index 
of  Annual  Reports — "Recent  additions"  by  Dr.  Fletcher 
— Proposed  book  on  "Forest  Insects"  conjointly  with  Dr. 
MacDougall.  {Bcthune)  Proffered  help  after  a  fire — Eye 
trouble — Locusts  in  Alfalfa  from  Buenos  Aires — Handbook 
of  Orchard  Insects — Rare  attacks  on  mangolds  and  straw- 
berries— Pressure  of  work — Death  of  Dr.  Lintner — Sympathy 
to  Mr.  Bethune. 

CHAPTER   XXI 

LETTERS  FROM  DRS.  RITZEMA  BOS,  SCHOYEX,  REUTER,  AND 

NALEPA,  MR.  LOUXSBURY  AND  MR.  FULLER  .     .   232 

{Ritzema  Bos)  Stem  eelworms — Cockchafer — Root-knot  eel- 
worm  —  Black  lady-bird  feeding  on  Red  spider  —  Eyed 
lady-bird — Professor  Westwood  on  larvae  of  Staphylinidce. 
{Schoyen)  Explanation  of  resignation  of  R.A.S.E.  work — 
Wheat  midge — Hessian  fly — Wasps — San  Jose  scale — Mr. 
Newstead's  opinion.  {Renter)  Hessian  fly — Accept  reports  on 
Economic  Entomology — Norwegian  dictionary  received  and 
successfully  used  —  Antler  moth  —  Paris-green  pamphlet — 
Swedish  grammar — Work  on  Cecidomyia  by  Renter — Forest 
fly — "Silver-top"  in  wheat  probably  due  to  thrips.  {Nalepa) 
Gall   mites.     {Lounshitry)    Boot    beetle — First   report  from 


CONTENTS  XV 

PAGE 

Capetown — Supplies  electros  for  future  reports— Mr.  Fuller 
goes  to  Natal — Pleased  to  receive  visits  from  entomological 
friends.  {Fuller)  Experiences  in  publishing  technical 
literature. 

CHAPTER  XXII 

LETTERS   TO    MR.   JAXSON   AND    MR.    MEDD       ....      259 

[Janson)  Deer  forest  flies — Identification  confirmed  by  Pro-  ■ 
lessor  Joseph  Mik — Flour  or  mill  moth — Granary  Weevils 
— Shot-borer  beetles — Pine  beetles — Contemplated  removal 
to  Brighton — Grouse  fly  from  a  lamb — Cheese  and  bacon 
fly — Case  of  rust-red  flour  beetle — Willow  beetles — White 
ants — Bean-seed  beetles — Sapwood  beetle — Death  of  Pro- 
fessor Mik.  (Mcdci)  Agricultural  Education  Committee  joined 
reluctantly  on  account  of  pressure  of  Entomological  work 
—  Sympathy  expressed  with  desire  to  improve  "  nature 
teaching"  in  rural  districts  —  One  hundred  copies  of  the 
Manual  and  many  leaflets  presented  —  Proposed  simple 
paper  on  common  fly  attacks  on  live  stock — Objection 
to  the  Water-baby  leaflet  of  the  committee — Paper  on 
wasps  in  the  "  Rural  Reader  " — Retiral  from  the  Agricultural 
Education  Committee. 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

LETTERS    TO     PROFESSOR    ROBERT    WALLACE     BEFORE     I9OO       275 

"  Indian  Agriculture  " — Wheat  screening  and  washing — 
Text  books  of  injurious  insects  —  Grease-banding  trees — 
Dr.  Fream — Mosley's  insect  cases — Professor  Westwood  of 
Oxford — " AustraHan  Agriculture " — Text-book  "Agricultural 
Entomology" — Entomology  in  Cape  Colony — Appointment 
as  University  Examiner  in  Agricultural  Entomology  — 
Presentation  of  Economic  Entomology  Exhibit  to  Edin- 
burgh University — Death  of  Miss  Georgiana  Ormerod — 
Pine  and  Elm  beetles — Index  of  the  first  series  of  Annual 
Reports. 

CHAPTER   XXIV 

LETTERS   TO     PROFESSOR   WALLACE   ON    THE     LL.D.     OF    THE 

UNIVERSITY   OF   EDINBURGH 287 

Proposal  of  the  Senatus  of  Edinburgh  University  to  confer 
the  LL.D.  on  Miss  E.  A.  Ormerod  as  the  first  woman 
honorary  graduate — Great  appreciation  of  the  prospective 
honour  as  giving  a  stamp  of  the  highest  distinction  to  her 
life's  work — Detailed  arrangements  preparing  for  graduation 
— Miss  Ormerod's  books  presented"  to  the  University  Library 
— Successful  journey  to  Edinburgh  —  Stay  at  Balmoral 
Hotel  —  Letter  of  thanks  for  personal  attention  sent 
after  the  event — Howard's  views  of  the  honour  to  Economic 
Entomology,  and  of  the  value  of  the  Edinburgh  LL.D. — 
Slight  chill  on  the  return  journey. 


xvi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    XXV 

PAGE 

LETTERS   TO    PROFESSOR   WALLACE    AFTER   THE    GRADUATION      299 

Congratulations  by  the  London  Farmers'  Club  —  Agricul- 
tural education  and  how  to  help  it — Painting  in  oil  of  Miss 
Ormerod  for  the  Edinburgh  University — Copies  of  ''Manual 
of  Injurious  Insects"  for  free  distribution — Book  of  sketches 
for  the  University  —  Photographs  by  EUiott  and  Fry  — 
Proposed  "Handbook  of  Forest  Insects"  in  collaboration 
with  Dr.  MacDougall— Proposed  "  Recollections  of  Changing 
Times  "  —  Pamphlet  on  "  Flies  Injurious  to  Stock  "  — 
Graduation  book  —  Proof s  of  "  Stock  Flies  "  —  Thanks  for 
"  Quasi  Cursores "  —  Digest  of  an  inaugural  address  on 
"Famine  in  India" — Presentation  of  the  oil  painting — Re 
Sulphate  of  copper  for  Professor  Jablonowski — Gall  mite 
experiments  on  black  currants — Appreciation  of  the  com- 
pany in  which  the  oil  painting  of  Miss  Ormerod  hangs  in  the 
Court  Room  of  the  University. 


^  CHAPTER   XXVI 

LETTERS   TO    PROFESSOR   WALLACE    {concluded)       .  .  -313 

Papers  of  "Reminiscences"  sent  to  the  editor — Details  of 
letterpress  material  and  of  subjects  for  plates — Photo  of  oil 
painting  taken  by  Elliott  and  Fry— -Proclamation  of  the  King 
— Publisher  for  "Reminiscences" — Return  of  papers  to  Miss 
Ormerod — One  of  several  visits  to  St.  Albans — "Taking 
in  sail "  by  discontinuing  the  Annual  Report  —  Illness 
becoming  alarming  —  Material  for  "Reminiscences"  con- 
signed to  the  editor  with  power  of  discretion  as  to  use — 
Continued  weakness — Proposed  week-end  visit  shortened — 
Taking  work  easier — First  chapters  of  "Reminiscences" 
typewritten  —  Dr.  MacDougall  as  coUaborateur — Serious 
relapse — Proposal  "of  a  pension  misappropriate — Improve- 
ment in  health  followed  by  frequent  relapses — Pleasure  of 
looking  up  "  Reminiscences  "  in  bed — Medical  consultation 
with  Dr.  J.  A.  Ormerod — Liver  complications — Fifteenth 
relapse  —  Touching  farewell  letters  written  in  pencil  — 
Obituary  notices  in  the  "  Times "  and  the  "  Canadian 
Entomologist." 


APPENDICES 327 

A,  Salmon  fishing,  from  the  "  Log  Book  of  a  Fisherman  " — 

B.  "Times"  notice  of  partial  retirement — C.  Insect  cases 
and  their  contents  presented  to  Edinburgh  University — 
D.  Note  on  Xyleborus  dispar—E.  Obituary  notice  of  Pro- 
fessor Riley. 


INDEX 337 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS    IN 
THE  TEXT 


PUTCHER    FOR   CATCHING   SALMON 

TIME-TABLE  :   TRAVELLING    200   YEARS   AGO 

FACSIMILE   OF   MISS    ORMEROD'S    HAND-WRITING 

SURFACE   CATERPILLARS  .  .  .  j 

WOOD   LEOPARD   MOTH  .  .  . 

PUSS    MOTH         ...... 

ANTLER   MOTH   AND   CATERPILLARS 

OX   WARBLE   FLY,    OR   BOT   FLY. 

PIECE   OF   SKIN    WITH   402    WARBLE-HOLES 

PIECE   OF   WARBLED    HIDE  .  .  .  . 

BREATHING  TUBES  OF  WARBLE  MAGGOT,  AND  OUTSIDE  PRICKLES 

MAGPIE   MOTH    ...... 

HORSE   BOT   FLY,    OR   HORSE   BEE 

FACSIMILE   NOTE   RELATING   TO   THE   KING   AND   QUEEN 

WATER   BEETLE  ..... 

CHEESE   AND   BACON    FLY  .... 

GREAT    TORTOISE-SHELL   BUTTERFLY       . 

CHARLOCK   WEEVIL  ..... 

HESSIAN   FLY   .  .  .  .  .  -      . 

HESSIAN    FLY   MAGGOT   ON   YOUNG   WHEAT   AND   ON    BARLEY 

HESSIAN    FLY   ATTACK   ON   BARLEY  .  . 

GOUT   FLY,    OR   RIBBON-FOOTED   CORN    FLY 

FOREST    FLY        ...... 

GREAT  OX  GADFLY    ..... 

BREEZE  FLIES  ...... 

SADDLE  FLY  ATTACK  ON  BARLEY 

FOOT  OF  FOREST  FLY  ..... 


36 
44 
89 

lOI 
102 
103 

IIO 

III 

112 
H2 
114 
117 
122 
124 

129 
130 

132 
132 

134 
135 

137 
139 


xviii       LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS   IN   THE   TEXT 


DEER    FOREST    FLY 

SHEEP    SPIDER    FLY 

BEET    CARRION    BEETLE 

CENTIPEDES    AND    A    MILLEPEDE 

AMERICAN    BLIGHT    OR    WOOLLY   APHIS 

OAK    LEAF-ROLLER    MOTH 

LOOPER   caterpillars:    WINTER    MOTH 

MOTH  .  .  . 

CORN    SAWFLY   .  .  . 

RED-BEARDED    BOTFLY 
WATER    MOTH    AND    CADDIS    WORMS 
LAPPET    MOTH    . 
HOUSE    SPARROW 
TREE    SPARROW 
ELM-BARK    BEETLE 
TUNNELS    OF   ASH-BARK    BEETLE 
GREATER    ASH-BARK    BEETLE       . 
PIECE    OF    ASH    BARK    WITH    BEETLE   GALLERIES 
POCKET    OR    BLADDER    PLUM 
SILVER    Y-MOTH 

MEDITERRANEAN    FLOUR    MOTH 
ANGOUMOIS    MOTH,    OR    FLY   WEEVIL 
LESSER    EARWIG 
SNAIL-SLUG 

FLATWORM,    LAND    PLANARIAN 
SHOT-BORER    BEETLES     . 
STEM-EELWORMS 
DIAMOND-BACK    MOTHS  . 
TOMATO    ROOT-KNOB    EELWORM 
CURRANT    AND    GOOSEBERRY    SCALE 
MUSTARD    BEETLE 

GOOSEBERRY   AND    IVY    RED    SPIDER 
GROUND    BEETLES 
TIMBERMAN    BEETLE 

SOUTH   AMERICAN    MIGRATORY    LOCUST 
PIGMY    MANGOLD    BEETLE 


AND    MOTTLED 


UMBER 


LIST   OF   FULL-PAGE    PLATES 


XIX 


spinach  moth 

cockchafer     . 

lady-birds 

long-horned  centipedp:s 

eyed  ladybird 

wheat  midge  . 

nest  of  tree  wasp    . 

pear  leaf  blister  mite 

currant  gall  mite  . 

bread,  paste,  or  boot  beetle 

boot  injured  by  paste  beetle  maggot 

granary  weevil 

grouse  fly     . 

rust-red  flour  beetle 

mottled  willow  weevil 

goat  moth 

pea  and  bean  weevils 

bean  beetles 

"splint,"  or  sap-wood  beetle 

sheep's    nostril    FLY    . 


PAGE 
231 

234 
235 
237 
239 
241 

249 
251 
253 
254 
262 
265 
266 
267 
268 
269 
270 
271 
305 


LIST    OF    FULL-PAGE    PLATES 


ELEANOR    ANNE    ORMEROD,    LL.D. 

I.    SEDBURY    PARK    HOUSE    AND    GROUNDS       . 
II.    GEORGE  ORMEROD,  ESQ.,  D.C.L.,  LL.D.,  F.R.S.,  F.S.A. 

III.  FAMILY   GROUP GEORGE    ORMEROD    AS  A  CHILD, 

AND    HIS    MOTHER,  UNCLE,  AND   GRANDMOTHER 

IV.  JOHN    LATHAM,    ESQ.,    M.D.,  F.R.S.,   PHYSICIAN 
V.    RUINS    OF    TINTERN    ABBEY,    MONMOUTHSHIRE 

VI.    NORMAN  WORK  FROM  CHEPSTOW  PARISH  CHURCH 
VII.    LEADEN      FONT     IN     TIDENHAM     CHURCH,     GLOU- 
CESTERSHIRE, AND    CHURCH    OF    ST.    MARY   THE 
VIRGIN,    TIDENHAM  .... 


Frontispiece 

Facing  p.    6 
8 

10 
12 
16 
18 


XX  LIST   OF   FULL-PAGE    PLATES 

PLATE 

VIIL    NORMAN   CHAPEL,    LLANCAUT,    WYE   CUFFS         .    Fodrig  p.    2  2 
IX.    MAP   OF   THE    BANKS    OF   THE   WYE  .  r,  32 

X.    RUINED    anchorite's    CHAPEL   OF    ST.    TECLA, 

Alfn  SEVERN   CLIFFS,    SEDBURY   PARK  ,.  34 

XI.    ROMAN    POTTERY,    FOUND    IN    SEDBURY    PARK, 

Ayn  SAURIAN   FROM     UAS,    SEDBURY    CLIFFS  .,  40 

XII.    ROYAL     MAIL,      OLD     GENERAL     POST     OFFICE, 

LONDON  .  .  .  .  .  „  42 

XIII.  OLD     CHEPSTOW     BRIDGE,     WITH     POST-CHAISE 

CROSSING   IT  .  .  .  ...  44 

XIV.  A  WEST  OF  ENGLAND   ROYAL   MAIL,  en   rOUtC    .  46 
XV.    MAP    OF    DISTRICT    OF    THE    CHARTIST    RISING 

IN   MONMOUTH                                .                 .                 •  v  5© 

XVI.   CHEPSTOW   CASTLE,    MONMOUTHSHIRE  .                 •  ,.  52 
XVII.   CHEPSTOW   WITH   THE  BRIDGE   OVER   THE  WYE 

AND  CHEPSTOW  CASTLE  ON  THE  RIVER  BANK  ,,  54 

XVIII.    ANTIQUE   CARVED    CHEST,    AN    HEIRLOOM             .  ,,  58 

XIX.   TORRINGTON   HOUSE,    ST.    ALBANS,    HERTS  „  74 

XX.    MISS   ORMEROD'S    METEOROLOGICAL   STATION     .  .,  80 

XXI.   HEDGEHOG     OAK,     SEDBURY     PARK,     AND     AP 

ADAM   OAK,    SEDBURY   PARK                    .                 .  ,  92 
XXII.    MISS   ORMEROD'S   MEDALS,    RECEIVED    1870   TO 

1900                 .                .                .                .                •  >,  9^ 

XXIII.  FOOT   OF   FOREST    FLY — SIDE   VIEW        .  „  1 38 

XXIV.  FOOT   OF   FOREST   FLY — SEEN    FROM   ABOVE       .  ,.  1 38 
XXV.    RUINS     OF     CHEPSTOW     CASTLE,      MONMOUTH- 
SHIRE               .                 .                 .                 .                 .  „  174 

XXVI.    RAILWAY      BRIDGE     OVER     THE     WYE,      NEAR 

CHEPSTOW      .  .  .  .  '  „  208 

XXVII.    MISS   GEORGIANA    ELIZABETH   ORMEROD  .  „  284 

XXVIII.   ORMEROD    HOUSE,    LANCASHIRE  .  .  r,  3^0 

XXIX.    ELEANOR  ANNE  ORMEROD,  LL.D.,  F.R.MET.SOC.  „  3^2 

XXX.    MISS  ORMEROD's  F.\THER,  AT  FIVE  YEARS   OLD, 

AND  MISS   ORMEROD    IN   CHILDHOOD  .  „  324 


CHAPTER  I 

BIRTH,  CHILDHOOD  AND  EDUCATION 

I  WAS  born  at  Sedbury  Park,  in  West  Gloucestershire,  on 
a  sunny  Sunday  morning  (the  nth  of  May,  1828),  being  the 
youngest  of  the  ten  children  of  George  and  Sarah  Orme- 
rod,  of  Sedbury  Park,  Gloucestershire,  and  Tyldesley, 
Lancashire.  As  a  long  time  had  elapsed  since  the  birth 
of  the  last  of  the  other  children  (my  two  sisters  and 
seven  brothers),  my  arrival  could  hardly  have  been  a  family 
comfort.  Nursery  arrangements,  which  had  been  broken 
up,  had  to  be  re-established.  I  have  been  told  that  I  started 
on  what  was  to  be  my  long  life  journey,  with  a  face  pale  as 
a  sheet,  a  quantity  of  black  hair,  and  a  constitution  that 
refused  anything  tendered  excepting  a  concoction  of  a  kind 
of  rusk  made  only  at  Monmouth.  The  very  earliest  event 
of  which  I  have  a  clear  remembrance  was  being  knocked 
down  on  the  nursery  stairs  when  I  was  three  years  old  by  a 
cousin  of  my  own  age.  The  damage  was  small,  but  the 
indignity  great,  and,  moreover,  the  young  man  stole  the 
lump  of  sugar  which  was  meant  to  console  me,  so  the 
grievance  made  an  impression.  A  year  later  a  real  shock 
happened  to  my  small  mind.  Whilst  my  sister,  Georgiana, 
five  years  my  senior,  was  warming  herself  in  the  nursery, 
her  frock  caught  fire.  She  flew  down  the  room,  threw 
herself  on  the  sheepskin  rug  at  the  door,  and  rolled  till 
the  fire  was  put  out.  But  she  was  so  badly  burnt  that 
the  injuries  required  dressing,  and  this  event  also  made  a 
great  impression  on  me.  Other  reminiscences  of  pleasure 
and  of  pain  come  back,  in  thinking  over  those  long  past 
days,  but  none  of  such  special  and  wonderful  interest  as 
that  of  being  held  up  to  see  King  William  IV.  Little 
as  I  was,  I  had  been  taken  to  one  of  the  theatres,  and  my 
father  carried  me  along  one  of  the  galleries,  and  raised  me 
in    his  arms  that  I  might  look  through  the  glass  window 


2  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  i. 

at  the  back  of  one  of  the  boxes  and  see  His  Majesty.  I  do 
not  in  the  least  beUeve  that  I  saw  the  right  man.  However, 
it  is  something  to  remember  that  about  the  year  1835,  ^^  ^ 
had  not  been  so  frightened,  I  might  have  seen  the  King. 

In  regard  to  any  special  likings  of  my  earliest  years  it 
seems  to  me,  from  what  I  can  remember  or  have  been 
told,  that  there  were  signs  even  then  of  the  chief  tastes 
which  have  accompanied  me  through  life — an  intense  love 
of  flowers  ;  a  fondness  for  insect  investigation  ;  and  a 
fondness  also  for  writing.  In  my  babyhood,  even  before 
I  could  speak,  the  sight  of  a  bunch  of  flowers  was  the 
signal  for  both  arms  being  held  out  to  beg  for  the 
coveted  treasure,  and  the  taste  was  utilised  when  I  was 
a  little  older,  in  checking  a  somewhat  incomprehensible 
failure  of  health  during  the  spring  visit  of  the  family  to 
London.  Some  one  suggested  trying  the  effect  of  a  supply 
of  flower  roots  and  seeds  for  me  to  exercise  my  love  of 
gardening  on,  and  the  experiment  was  successful.  I  can 
remember  my  delight  at  the  sight  of  the  boxes  of  common 
garden  plants — pansies,  daisies,  and  the  like  ;  and  I  suppose 
some  feeling  of  the  restored  comfort  has  remained  through 
all  these  years  to  give  a  charm  (not  peculiarly  exciting  in 
itself)  to  the  smell  of  bast  mats  and  other  appurtenances  of 
the  outside  of  Covent  Garden  market. 

My  first  insect  observation  I  remember  perfectly.  It  was 
typical  of  many  others  since.  I  was  quite  right,  absolutely 
and  demonstrably  right,  but  I  was  above  my  audience  and 
fared  accordingly.  One  day  while  the  family  were  engaged 
watching  the  letting  out  of  a  pond,  or  some  similar  matter,  I 
was  perched  on  a  chair,  and  given  to  watch,  to  keep  me  quiet 
at  home,  a  tumbler  of  water  with  about  half-a-dozen  great 
water  grubs  in  it.  One  of  them  had  been  much  injured  and 
his  companions  proceeded  quite  to  demolish  him.  I  was 
exceedingly  interested,  and  when  the  family  came  home 
gave  them  the  results  of  my  observations,  which  were 
entirely  disbelieved.  Arguing  was  not  permitted,  so  I  said 
nothing  (as  far  as  I  remember)  ;  but  I  had  made  my  first 
step  in  Entomology. 

Writing  was  a  great  pleasure.  A  treat  was  to  go  into  the 
library  and  to  sit  near,  without  disturbing,  my  father,  and 
"  write  a  letter "  on  a  bit  of  paper  granted  for  epistolary 
purposes.  The  letter  was  presently  sealed  with  one  of  the 
great  armorial  seals  which  my  father  wore — as  gentlemen 
did  then — in  a  bunch  at  what  was  called  the  "  fob."  The 
whole  affair  must  have  been  of  a  very  elementary  sort,  but 


Chap,  l]  CHILDHOOD  3 

it  was  no  bad  application  of  the  schoolroom  lessons,  for 
thus,  quite  at  my  own  free  will,  I  was  practising  the  spelling 
of  easy  words,  and  their  combination  into  little  sentences, 
and  also  how  to  bring  pen,  ink,  and  paper  into  connection 
without  necessitating  an  inky  deluge.  In  those  days 
children  were  not  ^'  amused  "  as  is  the  fashion  now.  We 
neither  went  to  parties,  nor  were  there  children's  parties  at 
home,  but  I  fancy  we  were  just  as  happy.  As  soon  as 
possible  a  certain  amount  of  lessons,  given  by  my  mother, 
formed  the  backbone  of  the  day's  employment.  In  the 
higher  branches  requisite  for  preparation  for  Public  School 
work,  my  mother  was  so  successful  as  to  have  the  pleasure 
of  receiving  a  special  message  of  appreciation  of  her  work 
sent  to  my  father  by  Dr.  Arnold,  Head-master  of  Rugby. 
All  my  brothers  were  educated  under  Dr.  Arnold,  two  as  his 
private  pupils,  and  the  five  younger  as  Rugby  schoolboys, 
and  he  spoke  with  great  appreciation  of  the  sound  founda- 
tion which  had  been  laid  by  my  mother  for  the  school 
w^ork,  especially  as  regarded  religious  instruction.  From 
the  fact  of  my  brothers  being  so  much  older  than  I, 
the  latter  point  is  the  only  one  which  remains  in  my 
memory  ;  but  I  have  a  clear  recollection  of  my  mother's 
mustering  her  family  class  on  Sunday  afternoons,  i.e.y  all 
whose  age  afforded  her  any  excuse  to  lay  hands  on 
them.  Whether  in  the  earlier  foundation  or  more  advanced 
work,  my  mother's  own  great  store  of  solid  information, 
and  her  gift  for  imparting  it,  enabled  her  to  keep  us 
steadily  progressing.  Everything  was  thoroughly  learned, 
and  once  learned  never  permitted  to  be  forgotten.  Nothing 
was  attempted  that  could  not  be  well  understood, 
and  this  was  expected  to  be  mastered.  In  playtime  we 
were  allowed  great  liberty  to  follow  our  own  pursuits, 
in  which  the  elders  of  the  family  generally  participated,  and 
as  we  grew  older  we  made  collections  (in  which  my  sister 
Georgiana's  love  of  shells  laid  the  foundation  of  what  was 
afterwards  a  collection  of  3,000  species),  and  carried  on  '*  ex- 
periments," everlasting  re-arrangement  of  our  small  libraries, 
and  amateur  book-binding.  All  imaginable  ways  of  using 
our  hands  kept  us  very  happily  employed  indoors.  Out  of 
doors  there  was  great  enjoyment  in  the  pursuits  which 
a  country  property  gives  room  for,  and  I  think  I  was  a  very 
happy  child,  although  I  fancy  what  is  called  a  ''  very  old- 
fashioned"  one,  from  not  having  companions  of  my  own 
age. 

On  looking  back  over  the  years  of  my  early  childhood, 


4  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  l. 

the  period  when  instruction — commonly  known  as  edu- 
cation— is  imparted,  it  seems  to  me  that  this  followed  the 
distinction  between  education  and  the  mere  acquirement 
of  knowledge  (well  brought  out  by  one  of  the  Cole- 
ridges),  and  embraced  the  former  much  more  fully  than 
is  the  case  at  the  present  day.  There  was  no  undue  pres- 
sure on  bodily  or  mental  powers,  but  the  work  was  steady 
and  constant.  The  instruction,  except  in  music,  was  given 
by  my  mother,  who  had,  in  an  eminent  degree,  the  gift 
of  teaching.  Although  at  the  present  time  home  educa- 
tion is  frequently  held  up  to  contempt,  still  some  recollec- 
tions of  my  own  home  teaching  may  be  of  interest.  The 
subjects  studied  were  those  included  in  what  is  called  a 
"solid  English  education."  First  in  order  was  biblical  know- 
ledge and  moral  precepts,  practical  as  well  as  expository, 
which  seem  to  have  glided  into  my  head  without  my  being 
aware  how,  excepting  in  the  case  of  the  enormity  of  any 
deviation  from  truth.  In  each  of  the  six  week-days'  work 
came  a  chapter  of  Scripture,  read  aloud,  half  in  English, 
and  half  in  French,  by  my  sister  and  me.  The  "  lessons," 
ix.y  recitation,  inspection  of  exercises,  &c.,  followed.  The 
subjects  at  first  were  few — but  they  were  thoroughly 
explained.  Geography,  for  example,  was  taken  at  first  in  its 
broad  bearings,  viz.,  countries,  provinces,  chief  towns, 
mountains,  rivers,  and  so  on  (what  comes  back  to  my  mind 
as  corresponding  to  'Marge  print"),  and  gradually  the 
"small  print"  was  added,  with  as  minute  information  as 
was  considered  necessary.  Use  of  the  map  was  strictly 
enforced,  and  repetition  to  impress  it  on  the  memory.  I 
seem  to  hear  my  mother  inculcating  briskness  in  giving 
names  of  county  towns — "  Northumberland  ?  Now  then  ! 
quick  as  lightning,  answer."  "  Newcastle,  Morpeth  and 
Alnwick,  in  Northumberland  "  ;  and  to  enforce  attention  a 
tap  of  my  mother's  thimble  on  the  table,  or  possibly,  if 
stupidity  required  great  rousing,  with  more  gentle  applica- 
tion on  the  top  of  my  head.  If  things  were  bad  beyond 
endurance,  the  book  was  sent  with  a  skim  across  the  room, 
which  had  an  enlivening  effect ;  but  this  rarely  happened. 
My  mother  gave  the  morning  hours  to  the  work  (unless 
there  was  some  higher  claim  upon  them,  such  as  my  father 
requiring  her  for  some  purpose  or  other)  but  she  always 
declared  that  she  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  prepa- 
ration of  lessons  in  the  afternoon.  If  all  went  fairly  well,  as 
usual,  the  passage  for  next  day's  lesson  was  carefully  read 
over   at  my  mother's   side,  and  difficulties  explained,  and 


Chap,  l]  EDUCATION  5 

then  I  was  expected  to  learn  it  by  myself.  What  we  knew 
as  "  doing  lessons  " — which  now  I  believe  passes  under  the 
more  advanced  name  of  "  preparation  " — was  left  to  my 
own  care,  and  if  this  proved  next  morning  not  to  have  been 
duly  given  I  had  reason  to  amend  my  ways.  The  prepara- 
tion hour  was  from  four  to  five  o'clock,  but  if  the  lessons 
had  not  been  learned  by  that  time  they  were  expected  to  be 
done  somehow,  though  I  think  my  mother  was  very  lenient 
if  any  tolerably  presentable  reason  were  given  for  short 
measure.  If  the  work  were  completed  in  less  than  the 
allotted  time,  I  was  allowed  to  amuse  myself  by  reading 
poetry,  of  which  I  was  excessively  fond,  from  the  great 
volume  of  "  Extracts "  from  which  my  lesson  had  been 
learned.  This  plan  seems  to  me  to  have  had  many  advan- 
tages. For  one  thing,  I  carried  the  morning's  explanations 
in  my  head  till  called  upon,  and  for  another,  I  think  it  gave 
some  degree  of  self-reliance,  as  well  as  a  habit  of  useful, 
quiet  self-employment  for  a  definite  time.  This  was,  in  all 
reason,  expected  to  be  carefully  adhered  to,  and  I  can  well 
remember  when  I  had  hurried  home  from  a  summer's  walk 
how  the  muscles  in  my  legs  would  twitch  whilst  I ,  endea- 
voured to  learn  a  French  verb. 

One  educational  detail  which,  as  far  as  my  experience 
goes,  appears  to  have  been  much  better  conducted  in  my 
young  days  than  at  present,  was  that  reading  aloud  to 
the  little  people  had  not  then  come  into  vogue.  I 
have  no  recollection  of  being  allowed  to  lie  about  on 
the  carpet,  heels  in  the  air,  whilst  some  one  read  a 
book  to  me.  There  was  also  the  peculiarity  to  which,  if  I 
remember  rightly.  Sir  Benjamin  Brodie  attributes  in 
his  autobiography  some  of  his  success  in  life,  viz.,  work 
was  almost  continuous.  There  was  never  an  interval  of 
some  weeks'  holidays.  A  holiday  was  granted  on  some 
great  occasion,  such  as  the  anniversary  of  my  father  and 
mother's  wedding-day  and  birthdays,  and  on  the  birthdays 
of  other  members  of  the  family,  but  (if  occurring  on  con- 
secutive days)  somewhat  under  protest;  and  half-holidays 
were  not  uncommon  in  summer.  These  consisted  of  my 
being  excused  the  afternoon  preparation  of  lessons,  and  as 
the  pretext  for  asking  was  generally  the  weather's  being  ^^so 
very  fine,"  I  conjecture  it  was  thought  that  an  extra  run  in 
the  fresh  air  was  perhaps  a  healthy  variety  of  occupation. 
Any  way,  the  learning  lost  must  havre  been  small,  for  excep- 
ting the  written  part  of  the  work  the  lessons  were  expected 
to  appear  next  morning  in  perfect  form,  however  miscel- 


6  '      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  i. 

laneously  acquired.  One  way  or  other  there  were  occasional 
breaks  by  pleasant  episodes  such  as  picnics,  on  fine 
summer  days,  to  one  of  the  many  old  ruined  castles,  or 
disused  little  Monmouthshire  churches,  or  Roman  remains 
in  the  neighbourhood,  where  my  father  worked  up  the 
material  for  some  forthcoming  archaeological  essay  and  my 
mother  executed  some  of  her  beautiful  sketches  (plate  vi.). 
The  carriage-load  of  young  ones  enjoyed  themselves  exceed- 
ingly, and  prevented  the  work  from  becoming  monotonous  or 
burdensome.  And  there  were  joyful  days  before  and  after 
going  from  home,  and  now  and  then,  when  it  was  impos- 
sible for  my  mother  to  give  her  morning  up  to  the  work,  if 
she  had  not  appointed  one  of  the  elder  of  the  young  fry  her 
deputy  for  the  occasion.  I  remember,  too,  that  I  took  my 
book  in  play  hours,  when  and  where  I  wished  ;  sometimes 
on  a  fine  summer  afternoon  the  '*  where  "  might  be  sitting 
on  a  horizontal  bough  of  a  large  old  Portugal  laurel  in  the 
garden.  And  I  fancy  that  the  perch  in  the  fresh  air,  with 
the  green  light  shimmering  round  me,  was  as  good  for  my 
bodily  health  (by  no  means  robust)  as  my  entertaining  little 
book  for  my  progress  in  reading. 

It  was  remarkable  the  small  quantity  of  food  which  it  was 
at  one  time  thought  the  right  thing  for  ladies  to  take  in 
public.  I  suppose  from  early  habit,  my  mother,  who  was 
active  both  in  body  and  mind,  used  to  eat  very  little.  At 
lunch  she  would  divide  a  slice  of  meat  with  me.  Although 
now  the  death,  in  her  confinement,  of  the  Princess 
Charlotte,  "  the  people's  darling,"  which  plunged  the  nation 
in  sorrow,  is  a  thing  only  of  history,  yet  it  is  on  record  how 
she  almost  implored  for  more  food,  the  special  desire  being 
mutton  chops.  Though  not  in  any  way  connected  with  the 
Royal  Family,  my  mother  held  in  memory  the  unhappy 
event  from  its  consequences.  Sir  Richard  Croft,  whose 
medical  attentions  had  been  so  inefficient  to  the  Princess, 
was  shortly  after  called  to  attend  in  a  similar  capacity  on 
Mrs.  Thackeray,  wife  of  Dr.  Thackeray,  then  or  after  Provost 
of  King's  College,  Cambridge.  For  some  reason  or  other  he 
left  his  patient  for  a  while,  and  the  story  went  that,  finding 
pistols  in  the  room  where  he  was  resting,  he  shot  himself. 
Miss  Cotton — Mrs.  Thackeray's  sister — was  a  friend  of  my 
mother.  Miss  Thackeray,  the  infant  who  was  ushered  into 
the  world  by  the  death  of  both  her  mother  and  the  doctor, 
survived,  and  in  her  young-lady  days  was  particularly  fond 
of  dancing  ;  and  I  have  the  remembrance  of  my  first  London 
ball  being  at  her  aunt's  house. 


PLATE       I. 


Sedbury  Park  House  and  Grounds,  distant  view. 


Mansion  House,  Sedbury  Park;    Miss  Georgiana  Ormerod  on 
THE  left,  Miss  Eleanor  Ormerod  on  the  right. 
{pp.  14,  48.) 


To  face  p.  6. 


CHAPTER   II 

PARENTAGE 

The  situation  of  Sedbury  (plate  i.),  rising  to  an  elevation  of 
about  170  feet  between  the  Severn  and  the  Wye,  opposite 
Chepstow,  was  very  beautiful,  and  the  vegetation  rich  and 
luxuriant.  My  father  purchased  the  house  and  policy 
grounds  from  Sir  Henry  Cosby  about  1826,  and  it  was  our 
home  till  his  death  in  1873.  He  retained  Tyldesley,  his 
other  property  in  Lancashire,  with  its  coal  mines,  but  we 
did  not  reside  there,  as  the  climate  was  too  cold  for  the 
health  of  my  mother  and  for  the  young  family. 

[The  original  purchase  was  called  Barnesville,  and  earlier 
still  Kingston  Park,  and  it  consisted  of  a  moderate-sized  villa 
with  the  immediately  adjoining  grounds.  The  property  was 
added  to  by  purchases  from  the  Duke  of  Beaufort,  and  it 
was  renamed  Sedbury  Park  after  the  nearest  village.  To  the 
house  the  new  owner  added  a  handsome  colonnade  about 
10  feet  wide,  and  a  spacious  library.  Sir  Robert  Smirke, 
the  architect  of  all  the  improvements,  was  the  man  who 
designed  the  British  Museum,  the  General  Post  Office,  &c.^ 
Barnes  Cottage  on  the  property,  at  one  time  ^  Barons 
Cottage,'  was  kept  in  habitable  repair  because  it  secured 
to  the  estate  the  privilege  of  a  seat  in  church.] 

About  sixteen  miles  from  Sedbury  Park  are  still  to  be  seen 
the  interesting  ruins  of  the  Great  Roman  station  of  this  part 
of  the  country,  Caerwent  or  the  white  tower,  the  Venta 
Silurum  of  Antonine's  ^'  Itinerary." 2     Its  trade  and  military 

'  About  that  period  it  was  the  practice  for  men  who  became  leading 
architects  to  undergo  a  thorough  classical  training,  including  a 
lengthened  course  of  practical  study  on  the  continent  of  Europe — the 
results  of  which  are  in  evidence  in  so  many  public  buildings  then 
erected  in  London. 

^  See  George  Ormerod's  Strigulensia,  Archceological  Memoirs  relating 
to  the  district  adjacent  to  the  confluence  of  the  Severn  and  Wye  (1861). 

7 


8  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  ii. 

importance  were  transferred  to  Strigul,  now  known  as 
Chepstow,  after  the  Norman  Conquest.  Sedbury  Park  is 
beheved  to  have  been  an  outlying  post  of  this  chief  mihtary 
centre,  and  it  was  occupied  by  soldiers  ^^  guarding  the 
beacon  and  the  look-out  over  the  passages  "  of  the  Severn. 
Considerable  finds  of  Roman  pottery  (plate  xi.)  were  dis- 
covered about  i860,  while  drains  about  4  feet  deep  were 
being  cut  near  to  the  Severn  cliffs.  They  consisted  chiefly 
of  fragments  of  rough  earthenware — cooking  dishes  and 
cinerary  urns,  &c.  There  was  also  a  small  quantity  of 
glazed,  red  Samian  cups  and  one  piece  of  Durobrivian  ware 
and  great  quantities  of  animals'  teeth  and  bones,  but  no 
coins  (p.  174).  After  the  death  of  my  father  it  was  found 
that  much  of  the  best  ware  had  been  stolen. 

My  father  (pi.  11.)  is  well  known  for  the  high  place  he  takes 
amongst  our  English  County  historians,  as  the  author  of 
"The  History  of  the  County  Palatine,  and  City  of  Chester," 
published  in  1818.  He  came  of  the  old  Lancashire  family  of 
Ormerod  of  Ormerod,  a  demesne  in  the  township  of 
Cliviger,  a  wild  and  mountainous  district,  situated  along  the 
boundaries  of  Lancashire  and  Yorkshire.  The  varied 
watershed  (transmitting  the  streams  to  the  eastern  and 
western  seas) ;  the  beauties  of  the  rocks  and  waterfalls  ;  the 
shaded  glens,  and  the  antique  farmhouses  (where  fairy 
superstition  still  lingered  till  the  beginning  of  the  past 
century),  have  been  wTitten  about  by  Whitaker  in  his 
"History  of  Whalley.''^  There,  in  the  year  1810,  in  an 
elevated  position,  amongst  aged  pine  and  elm  trees,  and 
surrounded  by  high  garden  walls  of  dark  stone,  the  mansion, 
(pi.  XXVIII.) — since  greatly  enlarged  by  the  family  of  the  pre- 
sent proprietor — stood  in  a  dingle  at  the  side  of  a  mountain 
stream,  which  rushed  behind  it  at  a  considerable  depth. 
Beyond  the  stream,  the  rise  of  the  ground  to  the  more 
elevated  moors  includes  a  view  of  the  summit  of  Pendle 
Hill,  of  exceedingly  evil  repute  for  meetings  of  witches  and 
warlocks,  and  congenerous  unpleasantnesses,  in  the  olden 
time. 

The  family  of  Ormerod  was  settled  in  the  locality  from 
which  they  took  their  name,  as  far  back  as  the  year  1311, 
the  estates  continuing  in  their  possession  until,  in  1793  (by 
the  marriage  of  Charlotte  Ann  Ormerod,  sole  daughter  and 
heiress  of  Laurence  Ormerod,  the  last  of  the  generation  of 
the  parent  stem  in  direct  male  descent),  they  passed  to 
Colonel  John  Hargreaves ;  and  by  the  marriage  of  his  eldest 
'  See  pp.  345,  355,  3rd  edition, 


PLATE      II. 


s^ 


George  Ormerod,  Esq.,  D.C.L.,  LL.D.,  F.K.S.,  F.S.A., 

OF  Sedbury  Park,  Gloucestershire,  and  Tyldesley,  Lancashire, 

Father  of  Miss  Ormerod. 

From  apainlimj  after  Jackson,  date  circa  1820. 
{pp.  11,  14.) 


To  face  p.  8. 


Chap,  ii.]  PARENTAGE  9 

daughter  and  co-heiress,  Eleanor  Mary,  with  the  Rev. 
William  Thursby,  they  became  vested  in  the  Thursby 
family,!  represented  until  recently  by  Sir  John  Hardy 
Thursby,  Bart.,  of  Ormerod  House,  Burnley,  Lancashire, 
and  Holmhurst,  Christchurch,  Hants.  Sir  John  showed 
thoughtful,  philanthropic  feeling  to  his  Lancashire  district, 
by  presenting  the  land  for  a  public  park  to  Burnley,  and,  in 
connection  with  his  family,  he  also  gave  the  site  for  the 
neighbouring  ^'  Victoria  Hospital."  In  1887,  he  served  as 
High  Sheriff  of  Lancashire,  and  was  created  Baronet. 
Dying  on  March  16,  1901,  he  was  succeeded  by  his  eldest 
son,  John  Ormerod  Scarlett  Thursby,  of  Bankhall,  Burnley, 
who,  in  his  surname  and  baptismal  names,  keeps  alive  the 
connection  with  the  old  family  stock  and  the  families  with 
which  the  last  two  co-heiresses  of  Ormerod  were  connected 
by  marriage.  With  these  matters  of  possessions,  however, 
the  collateral  branch  of  Ormerod,  of  Bury  in  Lancashire 
(from  the  special  founder  of  which  my  father  was  descended 
in  direct  male  line),  had  nothing  to  do.  From  Oliver 
Ormerod,  who  became  permanently  resident  at  Bury  shortly 
after  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  descended  his 
only  son,  George  Ormerod  of  Bury,  merchant.  From  him 
descended  George  Ormerod  (an  only  child),  who  died  on 
October  7,  1785,  a  few  days  before  the  birth  of  his  only 
child — my  father — yet  another  George  Ormerod.  In  a 
mere  statement  of  the  names  of  the  representatives  of 
successive  generations,  of  whom  no  specially  distinguishing 
points  appear  to  have  been  recorded,'  there  is,  perhaps,  little 
of  general  interest.  But  possibly  some  amount  of  interest 
attaches  to  the  proofs  of  representatives  of  one  family  having 
lived  quietly  on  from  generation  to  generation  in  one 
locality  since  the  early  part  of  the  fourteenth  century.  The 
connections  and  intermarrying  of  the  Ormerods  with  many 
of  the  Lancashire  families  of  former  days  give  the  subject  a 
county  interest  to  those  who  care  to  search  out  the 
genealogical,  historical  and  heraldic  details  given  at  great 
length  in  my  father's  volume  of  "  Parentalia."  Here  and 
there  some  member  of  the  family  appears  to  have  come 
before  the  world,  as  in  the  case  of  Oliver  Ormerod,  M.A., 
noted    as    a    profound    scholar,    theologian,   and    Puritan 

'  See  Parentalia,  Genealogical  Memoirs,  by  Geo.  Ormerod,  D.C.L., 
F.R.S.,  pp.  3-8,  for  records  and  evidences  regarding  successive 
generations  of  the  family  from  13 11  onwards,  as  existing  in  Inquisitions; 
Pedigrees  in  College  of  Arms  ;  Duchy  Records  ;  Clithero  Records,  and 
other  official  sources  quoted  in  the  work. — (EA.O.) 


lo  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  ii. 

controversialist,  and  author  of  two  polemical  works — one 
entitled  ^^  The  Picture  of  a  Puritan/'  published  in  1605,  and 
the  other  "The  Picture  of  a  Papist/'  published  in  1606. 
Oliver  Ormerod  was  presented  to  the  Rectory  of  Norton 
Fitzwarren,  Co.  Somerset,  by  William  Bourchier,  third  Earl 
of  Bath,  and  afterwards  to  the  Rectory  of  Huntspill  in  the 
same  county,  where  he  died  in  the  year  1625. 

Something,  however,  occurred  in  1784  of  much  interest 
to  our  own  branch  of  the  family,  leading  subsequently  to 
great  increase  of  property,  and  likewise  in  some  degree, 
connecting  us  with  the  Jacobite  troubles  of  1745.  This  was 
the  marriage  of  my  grandfather  with  Elizabeth,  second 
daughter  of  Thomas  Johnson,  of  Tyldesley.  Thomas 
Johnson  (my  great  grandfather)  having  married,  secondly, 
Susannah,  daughter  and  co-heiress  of  Samuel  Wareing,  of 
Bury  and  Walmersley,  got  with  her  considerable  estates, 
inherited  from  the  Wareings,  the  Cromptons  of  Hacking, 
and  Nuthalls  of  Golynrode.  On  the  occasion  of  the  march 
of  Charles  Stewart  to  Manchester  in  1745,  ''Tyldesley" — to 
use  the  form  of  appellation  often  given  from  property  in 
those  days — suffered  many  hardships.  As  one  of  the  five 
treasurers  who  had  undertaken  to  receive  Lancashire 
subscriptions  in  aid  of  the  reigning  monarch.  King  George 
the  Second,  and  as  an  influential  local  friend  of  the  cause, 
he  was  one  of  those  who  suffered  the  infliction  of 
domiciliary  military  visitation,  and  also  threat  of  torture  by 
burning  his  hands  to  induce  him  to  give  up  government 
papers  and  money  in  his  possession.  I  have  still  in  my 
house  (1901)  the  large  hanging  lamp  of  what  is  now  called 
''Old  Manchester"  glass,  which  lighted  the  dining-room 
when  my  great  grandfather  stood  so  steadily  to  his  trust  that 
although  the  straw  had  been  brought  for  the  purpose  of 
torture  (or  to  terrify  him  into  submission)  extremities  were 
not  proceeded  to.  He  was  ultimately  left  a  prisoner  on 
parole,  in  his  house,  until  released  in  December,  1745,  in 
consequence  of  the  retreat  of  the  rebel  army.  But 
disagreeable  as  this  state  of  things  must  have  been  at  the 
best,  it  was  to  some  degree  lightened  by  kindness  (or  at  least 
absence  of  unnecessary  annoyance)  on  the  part  of  the 
Jacobite  officers,  of  whom  stories  remained  in  the  family  to 
my  own  time.  One  especial  point  was  their  kindness  to  my 
eldest  great  aunt,i  then  a  little  child,  whom  they  used  to  take 
on  their  knees  to  show  her  what  she  described  as  their 
"  little  guns."  The  drinking  of  the  healths  of  the  rival 
*  Anne,  born  1739,  by  a  first  marriage,  married  Charles  Ford. 


PLATE      III. 


Family  Group — George  Ormerod  as  a  child  ;  his  Mother  seated 

BEHIND      HIM  ;       HER     BROTHER,      ThOMAS      JoHNSON,      EsQ.,      OF 

Tyldesley,     Lancashire,     standing  ;      and    their    Mother 
seated  on  the  right, 

Composition  from  ininiature,  circa  1780. 


To  face  p.  10. 


Chap,  il]  PARENTAGE  ii 

princes,  which  probably  often  led  to  a  less  peaceful  ending, 
was  mentioned  by  my  father  in  his  History  of  Cheshire,  as  a 
notable  instance  of  consideration. 

"  On  one  occasion  when  the  Scotch  officers  who  caroused 
in  their  prisoner's  house,  had  given  their  usual  toast  King 
James,  and  the  host  on  request  had  followed  with  his,  and 
undauntedly  proposed  King  George,  some  rose,  and 
touched  their  swords  ;  but  a  senior  officer  exclaimed,  ^  He 
has  drunk  our  Prince,  why  should  we  not  drink  his  ? 
Here's  to  the  Elector  of  Hanover."  ^ 

During  the  disturbed  time,  when  any  one  bearing  the 
appearance  of  a  messenger  would  assuredly  have  been  seized 
with  the  papers  which  he  carried,  the  difficulty  of  trans- 
mitting information  was  met  by  the  employment  at  night  of 
two  greyhounds  trained  for  the  service.  The  documents 
were  fastened  to  the  animals  and  thus  carried  safely  to  the 
adherent's  house,  from  which  as  opportunity  offered  they 
could  be  passed  on.  The  greyhounds,  having  been  well  fed 
as  a  reward  and  encouragement  to  future  good  behaviour, 
were  started  off  on  their  return  journey.  In  the  present  day 
this  plan  of  transmission  would  very  soon  be  discovered, 
but  in  those  times  the  nature  of  the  country,  the  nocturnal 
hours  chosen,  and  also  the  deeply-rooted  superstitions  of  the 
district,  all  helped  to  make  the  four-footed  messengers  very 
trusty  carriers. 

In  1755  Thomas  Johnson  served  as  Sheriff  of  Lanca- 
shire. He  died  in  1763,  leaving  a  widow  (who  survived  him 
until  1798),  one  son,  and  three  daughters — the  only  sur- 
vivors of  a  family  of  eleven  children,  of  whom  seven  died 
in  infancy,  three  on  the  day  of  their  birth.  Of  the  four 
children  who  reached  maturity,  Elizabeth,  the  second 
daughter  (plate  ill.)  married  my  grandfather,  George 
Ormerod  of  Bury,  at  the  Collegiate  Church,  Manchester, 
on  the  i8th  of  October,  1784.  He  died  in  1785,  a  fort- 
night before  the  birth  of  my  father,  who  was  the  sole  issue 
of  this  marriage. 

My  father,  George  Ormerod  (plate  11.),  heir  to  his  grand- 
father, was  born  October  20,  1785.  He  was  co-heir  of, 
and  successor  to  the  estates  of  his  maternal  uncle  in  1823, 
and  sole  heir  to  his  surviving  maternal  aunt  in  1839.  He 
was  D.C.L.,  LL.D.,  F.R.S.,  F.S.A.,  and  a  magistrate  for  the 
counties  of  Cheshire,  Gloucester,  and  Monmouth.  On 
August  2,  1808,  he  married  my  mother,  Sarah,  eldest 
daughter  of  John  Latham,  Bradwall  Hall,  Cheshire,  Fellow 
^  Hist,  dies.,  vol.  i.  p.  43. 


12  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  ii. 

and  sometime  President  of  the  Royal  College  of  Physi- 
cians, Harley  Street,  London.  ^ 

My  grandfather  in  the  female  line,  John  Latham,  M.D., 
F.R.S.  (plate  iv.),  the  eldest  son  of  the  Rev.  John  Latham, 
came  of  an  old  family  stock,  and  was  born  in  1761  in  the 
rectory  house  at  Gawsworth,  Cheshire.  He  was  educated 
first  at  Manchester  Grammar  School,  and  thence  pro- 
ceeded (with  the  view  of  studying  for  orders)  to  Brasenose 
College,  Oxford,  but  the  strong  bent  of  his  own  wishes 
towards  the  medical  profession  induced  him  to  alter  his 
plans,  and  he  took  his  degree  of  M.D.  on  October  10,  1788. 
*'  His  first  professional  years  w^ere  passed  at  Manchester  and 
Oxford,  where  he  was  physician  to  the  respective  infir- 
maries. In  1788  he  removed  to  London,  was  admitted 
Fellow  of  the  College  of  Physicians,  and  elected  succes- 
sively physician  to  the  Middlesex,  the  Magdalen,  and  St. 
Bartholomew  Hospitals.  In  1795  he  was  appointed 
Physician  Extraordinary  to  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and 
reappointed  to  the  same  office  on  the  Prince's  accession 
to  the  throne  as  George  IV.  In  1813  Dr.  Latham  was 
elected  President  of  the  College  of  Physicians  ;  in  1816, 
founded  the  Medical  Benevolent  Society ;  and  in  1829 
finally  left  London,  retiring  to  his  estate  at  Bradwall  Hall, 
where  he  died  on  April  20,  1843,  in  the  eighty-second  year 
of  his  age." 

He  indulged  in  the  practical  pleasures  of  country  life, 
and  maintained  a  home  farm,  on  which  he  kept  a  dairy  of 
sixty  cows.  He  was  a  man  of  great  force  of  character  and 
of  decisive  action.  On  one  occasion  a  man  who  had  been 
told  that  if  he  returned  he  would  be  summarily  ejected, 
came  back  to  crave  an  audience.  On  being  reminded  of 
the  fact  he  pleaded,  "  Oh  !  doctor,  you  do  not  really  mean 
it."  "  Yes,  I  do,"  was  the  prompt  reply  as  an  order  was 
given  to  the  butler  to  turn  the  intruder  out. 

Dr.  Latham  married,  in  1784,  Mary,  eldest  daughter  and 
co-heiress  of  the  Rev.  Peter  Mayer,  Vicar  of  Prestbury, 
Cheshire,  by  whom  he  had  numerous  children,  of  whom 
three   sons    and    two   daughters    lived   to   maturity.      My 

'  For  details  and  genealogical  tables  of  descent  (accompanied  by 
armorial  bearings)  regarding  the  above-named  families,  and  many 
others  of  the  old  families  of  the  Counties  Palatine  of  Lancashire  and 
Cheshire,  now  more  or  less  passed  away,  see  Parentalia,  by  George 
Ormerod,  cited  ante  in  note,  p.  9,  with  an  absolutely  enormous 
amount  of  reference  to  documentary  evidence,  often  in  itself  of  much 
antiquarian  interest  (E.A.O.). 


PLATE      IV. 


John   Latham,   Esq.,    M.D.,  F.li.S.,   Physician  Extraordinary  to 
George  IV.,   maternal   grandfather  of  Miss  Ormerod,   in 

HIS  ROBES  AS  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  ROYAL  COLLEGE  OF  PhYSICFANS, 

1813  TO  1819. 


To  face  p.  12. 


Chap,  il]  PARENTAGE  13 

mother,  his  eldest  daughter,  survived  him,  as  did  also  her 
brothers.  Of  these  the  second  son,  Peter  Mere  Latham, 
M.D.,  of  Grosvenor  -  street,  Westminster,  one  of  Her 
Majesty's  Physicians  Extraordinary,  was  long  well  known 
as  an  eminent  consulting  physician  regarding  diseases  of 
the  chest,  until  his  own  severe  sufferings  from  asthma 
obliged  him  to  retire  to  Torquay,  where  he  died  on  July 
20,  1875. 

From  our  being  related  to  John  Latham  and  his  wife, 
Mary  Mayer  (although  in  point  of  rank  the  difference  was 
so  enormous  between  the  head  from  whom  we  could  trace 
and  ourselves),  it  is  permissible  to  allude  to  our  connection 
with  the  family  of  Arderne  of  Alvanley,  and  consequent 
descent  from  King  Edward  the  First  and  his  wife,  Eleanor 
of  Castile.  This  gave  us  our  claim  of  ^^  founder's  kin " 
in  the  election  to  the  ^^  Port  Fellowship "  of  Brasenose 
College,  to  which  distinction  in  my  time  my  brother  — 
Rev.  John  Arderne  Ormerod — was  elected.  He  was  the 
last  Port  Fellow  on  the  above  foundation.  The  record 
of  each  generation  will  be  found  in  the  genealogical  table  of 
'^Arderne"  in  my  father's  *^  Parentalia,"  and  also  on  re- 
ference to  the  pedigrees  of  the  many  families  of  which 
members  are  named  in  the  ^'  History  of  Cheshire." 


CHAPTER  III 

REMINISCENCES   OF  SEDBURY   BY   MISS    DIANA  LATHAM  ^ 

My  cousin  Eleanor  Anne  Ormerod  was  the  youngest  of  a 
family  of  ten — seven  brothers  and  three  sisters — all  clever, 
energetic  creatures,  and  gifted  with  a  strong  sense  of 
humour.  A  large  family  always  creates  a  peculiar  atmo- 
sphere for  itself ;  it  also  breaks  up  into  detachments  of  elder 
and  younger  growth,  and  the  elder  members  are  beginning 
to  take  places  in  the  world  before  the  younger  are  out  of  the 
schoolroom.  Eleanor's  eldest  brother  was  a  Church 
dignitary  while  she  was  still  a  child,  teased  and  petted  by 
her  young  medical  student  brothers,  and  the  darling  of  her 
elder  sister  Georgiana.  The  father  and  mother  of  this 
numerous  flock  were  both  remarkable  people.  Mr. 
Ormerod,  historian  and  antiquary,  always  occupied  with 
literary  or  topographical  research,  was  an  autocrat  in  his 
own  family  and  intolerant  of  any  shortcomings  or  failings 
that  came  under  his  notice.  He  could,  however,  on  occa- 
sion, relax  and  tell  humorous  stories  to  children.  The 
family  discipline  was  strict ;  the  younger  members  were 
expected  to  yield  obedience  to  the  elders,  and  it  was  said 
that  the  spaniel  Guy  (he  came  from  Warwick),  who  ranked 
as  one  of  the  children,  always  obeyed  the  eldest  of  the  family 
present.  My  aunt  had  a  large  share  of  the  milk  of  human 
kindness  added  to  much  practical  common  sense  and  a 
touch  of  artistic  genius  in  her  composition  ;  it  was  from 
her  that  her  daughters  inherited  their  eye  for  colour  and 
dexterity  of  touch.  Mr.  Ormerod  was  a  neat  draughtsman 
of  architectural  subjects,  but  my  aunt  had  taste  and  skill 
and  a  delight  in  her  own  branch  of  art — flower  painting — 
that  lasted  all  her  life. 

Sedbury  Park  (plate  i.)  was  a  beautiful  home  ;  the  house, 
a  handsome  family  mansion  with  comfortable  old-fashioned 

'  The  daughter  of  Mr.  Henry  Latham,  resident  in  Italy. 
14 


Chap,  iil]     REMINISCENCES   OF   SEDBURY  15 

furniture,  good  and  interesting  pictures,  old  china,  and  a 
splendid  library,  afforded  also  ample  space  for  its  inmates  to 
follow  their  various  hobbies,  and  many  were  the  arts  and 
crafts  practised  there  at  various  times.  The  carpenter's 
bench,  the  lathe,  wood-carving,  electro-typing,  modelling 
and  casting  for  models  each  had  their  turn,  and  in  all  this 
strenuous  play  Eleanor  had  her  full  share.  Society  played 
a  very  secondary  part  in  life  at  Sedbury  ;  calls  were 
exchanged  with  county  neighbours  at  due  intervals,  and 
there  was  some  intimacy  with  Copleston,  Bishop  of  Llandaff, 
the  Bathursts  of  Lydney  Park,  and  the  Horts  of  Hardwicke. 
But  though  Mr.  Ormerod  attended  to  his  duties  as  magis- 
trate, and  went  duly  to  meetings  of  the  bench  at  Chepstow, 
he  was  quite  without  sympathy  for  field  sports  and  the 
pursuits  of  his  brother  magistrates.  He  was  absorbed  in 
his  own  studies,  and  something  of  a  recluse  by  nature. 

[Miss  Ormerod  has  herself  written  of  the  elaborateness  of 
the  arrangements  and  the  great  formality  which  were  asso- 
ciated with  the  regular  county  dinner  party,  the  chief 
method  of  entertainment  at  Sedbury  sixty  years  ago.  She 
referred  to  the  anxieties  experienced  lest  the  coach  should 
not  arrive  in  time  with  the  indispensables  including  fish — 
^'the  distance  of  Sedbury  from  London  involving  twenty- 
four  hours  or  more  of  transmission  in  weather  favourable 
or  otherwise."     Miss  Ormerod  continues  : — 

''  One  very  important  matter  in  the  far  gone  past  times  in  the 
arrangement  of  the  dinner  table,  was  the  removal  of  the  great 
cloth  and  of  two  cloths  laid,  one  at  each  side,  just  wide 
enough  to  occupy  the  uncovered  space  before  the  guests,  and 
long  enough  to  reach  from  one  end  of  the  table  to  the  other. 
The  removal  required  a  deal  of  care  and  dexterity,  and  1  do 
not  think  it  was  practised  at  many  other  houses  in  our 
neighbourhood.  When  the  table  was  to  be  cleared  for  dessert 
of  course  everything  was  removed,  including  the  great  table- 
cloth itself — one  of  the  handsomest  of  the  family  posses- 
sions, and  of  considerable  length  when  there  were  the  usual 
number  of  about  eighteen  or  twenty  guests.  The  operation 
was  performed  as  follows  : — The  butler  placed  himself  at 
the  end  of  each  strip  successively,  and  a  few  of  the  house  ser- 
vants or  of  those  who  came  with  guests  along  each  side.  The 
butler  drew  the  slips  in  turn  and  the  servants  took  care  there 
should  be  no  hitch  in  the  passage  of  the  cloths,  and  so  each 
was  nicely  gathered  up. 

"  But  the  removal  of  the  great  tablecloth  which  was  the 


i6  BIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  hi. 

next  operation  was  a  more  difficult  matter.  The  great  heavy 
central  epergne  of  rosewood  had  to  be  lifted  a  little  way  up 
by  a  strong  man-servant  or  two,  whilst  the  tablecloth  was 
slipped  from  beneath  it  and  the  cloth  was  started  on  its 
travels  down  the  table  till  it  came  into  the  hands  of  the 
butler,  who  gathered  it  up.  The  beautifully  polished  table 
then  appeared  in  full  lustre.  The  shining  surface  sparkled 
excellently  and  presently  reflected  the  bright  silver  and 
glass  and  the  fruit  and  flowers  with  a  brilliance  which  to 
my  thinking  was  much  more  beautiful  than  the  arrange- 
ment of  later  days."] 

The  annual  visit  to  London  was  a  great  delight  to  my 
aunt,  who  enjoyed  meetings  with  her  own  family  and 
friends,  and  visits  to  exhibitions,  &c.  Her  husband  had 
always  occupation  in  the  British  Museum,  and  her  daughters 
took  painting  and  other  lessons.  Mary,  the  eldest,  was  a 
pupil  of  Copley  Fielding ;  Georgiana  (pi.  xxvii.),  and  Eleanor 
later,  had  lessons  from  Hunt  and  learnt  from  him  how  to 
combine  birds'  nests  and  objects  of  still  life  with  fruits  and 
flowers  into  very  lovely  pictures.  Both  were  excellent 
artists  with  a  slight  difference  in  style  :  Georgiana's  pictures 
had  great  harmony  of  colour  and  composition  ;  Eleanor's 
had  more  chic.  Hunt  was  a  very  touchy  little  man — almost 
a  dwarf — and  if  by  any  chance  my  aunt  did  not  see  him  and 
bow  as  she  drove  past  he  cherished  resentment  for  days 
after.  At  Sedbury  driving  tours  or  picnic  excursions  to  the 
ruined  castles  an^  other  objects  of  interest  (pis.  v.,  xvi.,  xxv.), 
in  the  neighbourhood  were  frequent,  and  the  sketches  that 
resulted  were  often  reproduced  as  zincographs.  Now  and 
then  a  tour  abroad  was  achieved,  but  such  tours  were  few  and 
far  between.  The  beautiful  copy  of  Correggio's  ''  Marriage 
of  St.  Catherine  "  which  ultimately  became  Eleanor's  pro- 
perty, was  acquired  on  a  visit  to  Paris  and  the  Louvre. 

This  self-contained  family  life  did  not  lead  to  the  marriage 
of  the  daughters,  and  three  only  of  the  seven  sons  married 
— one  very  late  in  life.  Mary,  the  Princess  Royal  of  the 
family,  was  the  centre  of  the  first  group — herself  and  four 
brothers  ;  Georgiana  that  of  the  second,  consisting  of  two 
brothers  older  than  herself,  one  younger,  and  Eleanor. 
Georgiana  was  a  most  lovable  person  ;  she  always  believed 
in  her  younger  sister's  capacity  and  in  her  projects,  which  were 
not  approved  of  nor  taken  seriously  by  some  of  her  elders, 
and  could  not  have  been  carried  out  until  after  the  break 
up  of  the  home  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Ormerod.     Meantime, 


Chap,  iil]      REMINISCENCES   OF   SEDBURY  17 

the  naturalist  element  in  Eleanor  was  free  to  lay  up  know- 
ledge for  future  use,  and  her  country  life  gave  leisure  and 
opportunity  for  observation  of  bird,  plant,  and  insect  life,  to 
say  nothing  of  reptiles.  Any  snake  killed  on  the  estate  was 
brought  to  Eleanor,  and  if  it  was  remarkable  for  size  or  beauty 
she  took  a  cast  of  it  to  be  afterwards  electrotyped,  or  had  it 
buried  in  an  ant-hill  in  order  to  set  up  its  skeleton  when  the 
ants  had  cleaned  the  bones.  The  casts,  w^hich  resembled 
bronze,  were  sometimes  attached  to  slabs  of  green  Devon- 
shire marble,  and  made  handsome  paper  weights.  Wasps 
were  at  one  time  a  subject  of  special  study  and  interest  to 
her  brother  Dr.  Edward  Ormerod,  and  she  and  Georgiana 
once  conveyed  a  wasp's  nest  to  him  at  Brighton.  I  believe 
he  did  not  allow  the  wasps  to  exceed  a  certain  number,  out 
of  consideration  for  the  neighbouring  fruiterers. 

The  premature  deaths  of  Edward  and  William,  physician 
and  surgeon,  were  heartfelt  sorrows  to  the  two  sisters  nearest 
in  age.  If  Eleanor's  lot  had  been  cast  in  later  days  she  might 
have  become  a  lady  doctor  of  renown  ;  she  had  many 
qualifications  for  the  medical  profession  and  a  liking  for 
domestic  surgery  ;  she  had  strong  nerves  and  inspired  con- 
fidence and  used  to  say  that  she  never  went  a  journey 
without  some  fellow-passenger  going  into  a  detailed  account 
of  all  her  ailments.  Besides  strong  nerves  she  had  strong 
eye-sight  and  a  delicate  but  firm  touch.  Her  brothers  did 
not  encourage  anatomical  studies,  but  she  could  prepare 
sections  of  teeth  and  other  objects  for  the  microscope  as 
beautifully  as  any  professional  microscopist.  Some  of  my 
cousins  were  strong  sighted  and  very  short-sighted,  and 
much  inclined  to  be  sceptical  as  to  my  long-sighted  vision. 

My  last  visit  to  Sedbury  was  in  the  autumn  of  1853  in 
company  with  my  step-sister  Margaret  Roberts,  then  just 
beginning  to  try  her  powers  as  an  authoress.  Eleanor  must 
then  have  been  twenty-five  or  twenty-six,  but  was  considered 
to  be  quite  young  by  her  family,  and  in  some  respects  was 
really  so.  She  no  longer  played  such  pranks  as  embarking 
in  a  tub  to  navigate  the  horse  pond,  but  her  fine  dark  eyes 
would  shine  with  mischief,  and  she  was  the  licensed  jester 
to  the  family  circle. 

The  routine  of  life  at  Sedbury  usually  began,  on  the  part 
of  the  younger  members  of  the  family,  with  a  walk  after 
breakfast  prefaced  by  a  visit  to  the  poultry  yard  and 
greenhouses.  Georgiana  was  chief  hen-wife,  and  kept  an 
account  of  the  eggs  and  chickens.  The  park,  lying  on  high 
ground   between  the  Severn   and   the   Wye,  had  beautiful 

3 


i8  BIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  hi. 

points  of  view  and  fine  timber,  and  there  were  lovely  views 
beyond  its  precincts.  ^'  Offa's  Dyke  "  ran  through  a  corner 
of  the  estate,  and  the  discovery  of  some  Roman  pottery  in 
its  neighbourhood  had  given  my  cousins  much  occupation 
in  sticking  broken  fragments  together  and  re-building  them 
into  vases  (plate  xi.).  Our  most  beautiful  walk,  rather  too 
long  for  the  morning  strolls,  was  to  the  ^^  double  view,"  a 
projecting  promontory  above  the  Wye  where  the  river 
curves  and  from  whence  a  lovely  view  is  visible  both  up 
and  down  the  stream.  From  the  morning  walk  we  always 
brought  back  something  from  hedge  or  field  for  my  aunt  to 
draw  as  she  lay  on  her  sofa  with  her  drawing  table  across  it. 
She  was  then  in  failing  health,  but  still  able  to  draw,  and  she 
used  to  make  studies  of  flowers  in  pencil  on  grey  paper, 
touching  in  the  high  light  with  Chinese  white.  Each  draw- 
ing when  finished  was  shut  up  in  a  large  book,  and  there 
kept  until  some  gathering  of  the  family  took  place,  when  the 
drawings  w^ere  produced  and  a  lottery  ensued,  each  person 
choosing  a  drawing  in  turn  according  to  the  number  on  the 
ticket  they  had  drawn.  I  have  a  book  of  these  beautiful 
drawings  (plate  Vl.)  which  I  greatly  prize.  In  her  youthful 
days  she  had  painted  in  oils,  and  there  were  some  fine  copies 
of  Dutch  flower  pictures  in  the  drawing-room  made  by  her. 
In  later  life  the  care  of  her  large  family  left  scant  time  for 
Art,  but  she  cherished  it  in  her  daughters,  and  it  w^as  again 
a  resource  in  her  advanced  age.  The  great  sculptor  Flax- 
man  was  a  friend  of  her  father  and  had  encouraged  her 
youthful  efforts  in  Art.  She  had  amazing  industry  and  had 
copied  many  of  his  designs  on  w^ood  as  furniture  decorations. 
Georgiana  and  Eleanor  usually  had  some  painting  or  other 
industry  on  hand,  or  copying  to  do  for  their  father.  In  the 
afternoon  we  often  took  a  drive  and  were  taken  to  see 
Tintern  or  the  Wynd  Cliff  or  some  other  point  of  interest. 
After  dinner  we  sat  in  the  library,  a  fine  room  with  a  splendid 
collection  of  books  shut  up  in  wire  bookcases.  Each 
member  of  the  family  had  a  key  to  the  imprisoned  books, 
but  a  visitor  felt  that  to  get  one  extracted  for  personal  use 
was  rather  a  ceremony.  The  beautiful  illustrated  books 
were  brought  out  for  the  evening's  entertainment  and  then 
safely  housed  again.  On  Sundays  we  walked  or  drove  to 
Tidenham  Church,  a  'Mittle  grey  church  on  a  windy  hill" 
(plate  VII.).  We  took  a  walk  in  the  afternoon,  and  in  the 
evening  Mr.  Ormerod  read  a  sermon  in  the  library  to  us  and 
the  servants.  Such  was  the  routine  of  life  that  autumn  at 
Sedbury.     At  the  time  of  our  visit,  the  Gloucester  Musical 


^  s 


4 


Chap,  iil]     REMINISCENCES   OF  SEDBURY  19 

Festival  was  going  on,  but  there  was  no  thought  of  going  to 
hear  it.  In  later  years  Eleanor  possessed  a  good  piano  and 
studied  the  theory  of  music,  but  I  think  that  was  prompted 
by  her  general  cleverness  and  activity  of  intellect  rather 
than  by  any  special  gift  for  music.  She  was  teaching  herself 
Latin  during  our  visit,  and  as  time  went  on  she  acquired  other 
languages.  She  made  beautiful  models  of  fruits  by  a  process 
of  her  own  invention.  A  collection  of  these  was  sent  to  an 
International  Exhibition  at  St.  Petersburg  and  she  acquired 
sufficient  knowledge  of  Russian  to  correspond  with  the 
department  of  the  Exhibition  receiving  them. 

After  the  break-up  of  the  Sedbury  home,  consequent  on 
the  death  of  Mr.  Ormerod,  who  survived  his  wife  ^  for  many 
years,  Mary  bought  the  lease  of  a  house  in  Exeter  and 
settled  there  for  the  rest  of  her  life  ;  the  two  younger  sisters 
took  a  house  for  three  years  in  Torquay,  where  we  were  then 
living  as  well  as  their,  and  our,  old  and  beloved  uncle.  Dr. 
Mere  Latham.  Wishing  to  be  nearer  London,  they  removed 
to  Isleworth  and  some  years  later  to  Torrington  House,  St. 
Alban's,  where  they  spent  the  remaining  years  of  their  lives. 

DIANA   LATHAM. 

'  Sarah  Ormerod  died  in  i860  aged  75  years. 


CHAPTER  IV 

CHURCH   AND   PARISH 

Our  Parish  Church  (plate  vii.),  that  is  to  say,  the  Church 
of  St.  Mary  the  Virgin,  Tidenham,  Gloucestershire,  in  which 
parish  my  father's  Sedbury  property  was  situated,  was  of 
considerable  antiquarian  interest,  as,  although  the  hamlet 
of  Churchend  in  which  it  stands  is  not  mentioned  in  the 
Saxon  survey  of  956,  the  original  church  was  in  existence 
in  the  year  1071.  The  fabric  of  the  church  when  I  knew  it 
was  of  later  date,  and,  as  shown  by  the  accompanying 
sketch,  chiefly  in  the  architecture  of  the  fourteenth  century, 
excepting  the  south  doorways  of  the  nave  and  chancel  and 
the  tall  narrow  trefoil-headed  windows  in  the  north  aisle. 
The  chief  point  of  archaeological  interest,  however,  lies  in 
its  possession  of  a  leaden  font  (plate  vii.)  in  perfect  repair, 
referable  from  its  style  to  the  transition  period  of  Saxon  and 
Anglo-Norman  architecture,  and  considered  not  likely  to  be 
more  recent  in  date  than  the  eleventh  century.  The  subject 
derives  additional  interest  from  the  circumstance  of  the 
precise  correspondence  of  this  font  in  Tidenham  Church 
with  the  leaden  font  in  the  church  of  the  adjoining  small 
parish  of  Llancaut,  making  it  demonstrably  certain  that  both 
the  fonts  were  cast  from  the  same  mould.^     The  decorations 

'  Alfred  C.  Fryer,  Ph.D.,  M.A.,  begins  an  admirable,  fully  illustrated 
paper  on  "Leaden  Fonts"  in  the  Archccological  Journal,  March,  1900, 
with  the  following  statements  :  There  are  27  leaden  fonts  situated  in 
12  counties  in  the  south,  east  and  west  of  England — 8  in  Gloucester,  3 
in  Berks,  3  in  Kent,  3  in  Sussex,  2  in  Oxford,  2  in  Hereford,  i  in  Derby, 
I  in  Dorset,  i  in  Hants,  i  in  Lincoln,  1  in  Norfolk  and  i  in  Surrey. 
Several  of  these  date  from  the  latter  part  of  the  nth  and  the  12th 
centuries.  A  few  belonged  to  the  13th,  14th  and  15th  centuries, 
and  the  latest  has  the  date  1689  impressed  upon  it.  They  are  all  tub- 
shaped,  with  the  exception  of  two,  namely,  a  hexagon  and  a  cylindrical 
bowl.  The  older  fonts  all  possessed  covers,  and  several  retain  the 
markings  to  which  the  locks  were  attached.  The  deepest  bowl  (outside 
measurement)  is  16  inches.  The  most  shallow  bowl  is  at  Parham  in 
Sussex,  and  it  is  only  8^  inches  in  depth.  The  diameters  also  vary  con- 
siderably from  32  inches  to  18^  inches. — (Ed.). 


Leaden  Font  in  Tidenham  Church. 


«!'- 


Iff  n     .--yi 


tfs:!}! 


I 


Church  of  St.  Mary  the  Virgin,  Tidenham,  Gloucestershire. 
The  vault  on  S,E.  side  of  the  Church,  about  15  ft.  square, 
is  the  grave  of  Miss  Ormerod's  Father  and  Mother. 

From  a  xketch  by  3Iiss  Georgiana  E.  Ormerod. 

To  face  jj.  20.. 


Chap,  iv.]  CHURCH   AND   PARISH  21 

on  the  fonts  are  in  mezzo  relievo.  These  consist  of  figures 
and  foliage  ranged  alternately,  in  twelve  compartments, 
under  ornamental,  semi-circular  arches  resting  on  pillars  ; 
the  design — two  arches  containing  figures  alternating  with 
two  arches  containing  foliage — being  thrice  repeated.  The 
details  will  be  better  understood  from  the  accompanying 
plate  than  from  verbal  description,  but  may  be  stated  as 
representing  respectively  under  each  of  the  two  thrice- 
repeated  arches  a  venerable  figure  seated  on  a  throne,  the 
first  of  the  two  holding  a  sealed  book,  the  second  raising 
his  hand  as  in  the  act  of  benediction,  after  removal  of  the 
seal  from  a  similar  book  which  is  grasped  in  his  hand. 
Each  of  these  figures  was .  considered  to  represent  the 
Second  Person  of  the  Trinity.  ^  On  this  point  I  am  not 
qualified  to  offer  an  opinion,  but  whatever  may  be  the  case 
as  to  ecclesiastical  adaptation  in  the  representation  in  the 
second  of  the  two  figures,  the  first  of  the  throned  figures 
appears  to  coincide  with  the  description  of  the  vision  of  the 
Deity,  given  in  the  '^  Revelation "  of  St.  John,  chap.  v. 
verse  1,2  rather  than  with  any  representation  of  **  The 
Lamb "  that  "  stood,"  as  it  had  been  slain,  and  "  came  and 
took  the  book  out  of  the  right  hand  of  him  that  sat  upon  the 
throne  "  (verses  6  and  7  of  the  chapter  quoted). 

The  illustration  is  taken  from  very  careful  '^rubbings" 
of  the  Tidenham  Font.  The  Llancaut  font  has  suffered 
considerable  damage,  and  likewise  the  loss  of  two  of  the 
original  twelve  compartments.  These  had  presumably  been 
removed  to  make  the  font  more  suitable  to  the  exceedingly 
small  size  of  the  little  Norman  chapel  (pi.  viii.).  This  church, 
which  in  my  time  was  almost  disused,  measured  only  about 
40  feet  in  length  by  12  in  breadth,  and  possessed  nothing 
of  an  architectural  character,  excepting  one  small  round- 
headed  window  at  the  east  end,  with  plain  cylindrical  side 
shafts  without  capitals,  and  a  small  cinquefoil  piscina.  The 
situation,  on  one  of  the  crooks  of  the  Wye,  and  just  above 
the  river,  is  romantic  in  the  extreme.  The  ground  rapidly 
slopes  down  to  it  from  above,  clothed  with  woodland  from 
the  level  of  the  top  of  the  precipitous  cliffs  which  rise 
almost   immediately   beside  it  to  a  great  height  above  the 

''  Sirigulensia  Archceological  Memoirs  relating  to  the  District  adjacent  to 
the  confluence  of  the  Severn  and  the  Wye,  by  Geo.  Ormerod,  D.C.L.,  F.R.S., 
of  Tyldesley  and  Sedbury  Park,  MDCCCLXL,  pp.  84-88.  Re-arranged 
from  a  Memoir  in  Archceologia  (by  above  author),  XXIX.,  p.  17. 

=  "  And  I  saw  in  the  right  hand  of  Him  that  sat  on  the  throne,  a 
book  written  within,  and  on  the  backside  sealed  with  seven  seals." 


22  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  iv. 

river.  Access  on  that  side  is  thus  only  possible  by  boat, 
or  by  a  rough  way,  known  as  the  Fisherman's  Path,  along 
the  front  of  the  cliffs.  Nevertheless,  because  of  the  ex- 
ceeding picturesqueness  of  the  spot,  it  was  a  favourite  resort 
on  the  twelve  Sundays  in  the  year  on  which  (I  believe 
under  some  legal  necessity)  service  was  there,  in  my  time, 
performed.  The  scene,  on  the  only  occasion  I  was  ever 
present  (when  our  parish  church  was  closed),  might  have 
furnished  an  excellent  subject  for  a  painting,  as  the  congre- 
gation (far  too  many  for  the  little  church  to  hold),  in  their 
bright  Sunday  dress,  emerged  from  the  sloping  glades  or 
woodland,  to  the  open  space  close  by  the  church.  Com- 
fort was  a  matter  of  minor  importance.  Those  who 
disposed  themselves  on  the  grass,  where  they  had  full 
enjoyment  of  the  fresh  summer  air,  and  heard,  through 
the  open  door,  as  much  of  the  service  as  they  chose  to 
listen  to,  doubtless  enjoyed  themselves,  but  within  it  was 
not  so  agreeable.  The  squire's  family  were  of  course 
installed  in  the  pew,  and  there  we  were  packed  as  tightly 
as  could  be  managed,  so  that  we  all  had  to  get  up  and  sit 
down  together.  We  had  a  '^  strange  clergyman,"  reported 
to  be  of  vast  learning;  and  my  juvenile  terror,  along  with 
my  physical  condition  from  squeezing,  has  imprinted  the 
morning's  performance  on  my  recollection  as  something 
truly  wretched. 

There  being  no  resident  population  the  chapel  has  since 
fallen  into  ruin,  and  the  font  and  bell  have  been  removed 
to  the  mother  parish  of  Woolastone,  the  bell  now  doing 
duty  at  the  day-school  there.  In  1890  Sir  William  H. 
Marling,  Bart,  (patron  of  the  living)  carefully  restored  the 
font  and  placed  within  it  a  brass  plate  bearing  the  following 
inscription  : — 

"  Perantiquum  hunc  fontem  baptismalem  e  ruinis  sacelli  sci  Jacobi 
Lancaut  in  comu  Glouce  servatum  refecit  Guls  Heiis  Marling  Bars 
A.D.  1890." 

The  venerable  relic  stands  in  the  hall  at  Sedbury  Park. 

The  history  of  the  *'  Church  "  in  our  parish  of  Tidenham, 
whether  interpreted  as  the  body  of  believers  or  the  building 
in  which  they  worshipped,  might  be  well  taken,  during 
about  the  fifty  middle  years  of  the  past  century,  as  an 
illustration  of  ^^  changing  times."  In  the  year  1826 — or 
thereabouts — when  my  father  purchased  the  property, 
Tidenham    Church    was    no    exception     to    many    other 


I 


PLATE      VII] 


Ti^W^IT"'-     ~"-'-'-  '•*'.'^*\^'5SB"<*.??.-*r-^ir«r.irr'^.>,>A? 


Norman  Chapel,  Llancaut,  Wye  Cliffs. 


To  face  p.  22 


Chap,  iv.]  CHURCH   AND    PARISH  23 

churches  in  rural  districts.  The  interior  comes  back  to 
my  remembrance  as  dark,  dingy,  and  very  decidedly  damp, 
as  shown  by  the  green  mould  on  pillars  and  walls.  One 
of  the  first  improvements  was  the  placing  of  two  good 
stoves  in  the  church, — one  presented  by  my  father,  and  the 
other  (rather,  I  believe,  against  local  wishes)  by  the  Parish. 
I  well  remember  the  presence  of  the  stoves,  as  it  was 
considered  by  the  churchwardens,  or  whoever  arranged 
these  matters,  that  the  time  which  was  most  decorous  for 
stirring  the  fires  was  during  the  singing  as  ^^  it  drowned  the 
noise."  What  our  local  choir  consisted  of  I  do  not  remem- 
ber, but  I  rather  think  it  was  simply  vocal,  and  started  by  a 
^^  pitchpipe."  But  at  least  there  was  nothing  ridiculous 
about  it.  We  did  not,  as  in  a  church  at  no  great  distance, 
have  the  violinist  and  his  instrument  carried  in  on  a 
man's  shoulders  because  the  unfortunate  musician  was 
without  legs  ! 

The  sittings  for  the  congregation  were  (I  suppose  as  a 
matter  of  course  in  those  days)  all  in  closed  pews  with 
doors — the  pews  of  a  size,  form,  and  respectability  of 
appearance,  likewise  of  comfort  and  fittings,  according  to 
the  social  position  of  their  holders.  It  could  not,  however, 
be  said  that  the  chief  parishioners  had  the  best  places,  for 
our  two  large,  roomy,  square  seats  were  mounted  up,  side 
by  side,  a  few  steps  above  the  others  at  the  end  of  the  north 
aisle,  with  a  good  wall  between  us  and  the  chancel,  effectu- 
ally preventing  our  seeing  what  was  going  on  in  that 
direction.  Within  our  special  pew,  which  had  curtains 
more  or  less  drawn,  we  sat  round  with  our  feet  at  proper 
times  on  good  high  hassocks.  When  we  knelt  we  all 
turned  round  and  faced  the  sides  of  the  pew,  and  my 
juvenile  sorrows  were  sometimes  great  towards  the  end  of 
the  Litany.  The  fatigue  from  kneeling  on  the  top  of  my 
unsteady  perch  produced  faintness,  and  I  well  remember 
my  anxieties  increasing  with  the  ^'odd"  feeling  till  I 
mustered  courage  to  announce  to  my  eldest  sister,  whom 
I  held  in  considerable  awe,  that  I  did  not  feel  very  well ; 
and  measures  were  taken  accordingly.  The  pew  was  said 
to  be  just  over  where  the  soldiers  were  buried  who  were 
killed  during  the  Parliamentarian  war  at  the  Battle  of 
Buttington,  a  locality  in  the  same  parish  ;  but  on  an 
occasion  of  some  repairs  being  made,  the  flooring  was  dis- 
covered to  be  laid  on,  or  close  above  the  live  rock,  which 
rendered  this  view  inaccurate.  The  surface  of  the  ground 
was  immediately  below  the   floor,   and  as  the  family  pew 


H  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  iv. 

had  on  its  east  side  one  of  the  great  east  windows  of  the 
church,  and  on  the  north  side  a  smaller  one,  both  with 
small  panes  ill-leaded,  and  one  with  a  very  insufficiently 
fastened  small  window,  our  Sunday  devotions  in  winter 
were  anything  but  comfortable. 

1  believe  the  rural  congregation  behaved  with  great  pro- 
priety, though  certainly  on  one  occasion  it  struck  me  that 
a  reverence  during  the  creed  at  the  name  of  Pontius  Pilate 
on  the  part  of  the  wife  of  my  father's  farm-bailiff,  was 
somewhat  out  of  place.  But  we  were  free  from  such  lapses 
in  decency  of  arrangement  as  occurred  elsewhere.  The 
pigeons  did  not  roost  in  the  tower,  neither  did  a  turkey  sit 
on  her  eggs  in  the  pulpit,  which,  considering  that  the  time 
of  incubation  for  the  turkey  hen  is  four  weeks,  must  have 
interfered  considerably  with  the  due  performance  of  service. 
Neither  were  we,  so  far  as  I  remember,  scandalised  by 
attendance  of  dogs  in  church,  whether  avowedly  accom- 
panying their  masters  or  making  a  voyage  of  discovery  as  to 
where  their  clerical  owner  might  have  vanished.  And 
certainly  we  did  not  have  the  disgraceful  circumstance 
which  occurred  in  another  church  with  which  I  was 
acquainted,  of  two  ladies  of  good  social  position  in  the 
parish  walking  up  to  the  rails  of  the  communion  table  to 
receive  the  sacrament,  followed  by  their  great  Newfound- 
land dog  ! 

One  practice — certainly  objectionable,  but  perhaps  not 
unusual  in  country  parishes  where  the  church  was  also 
used  as  the  week-day  schoolroom — was  putting  the  bags 
holding  the  provisions  which  the  children  brought  with 
them  for  their  dinners  on  the  communion  table.  I  do  not 
think  that  this  was  so  very  shocking,  for  no  irreverence  was 
intended.  A  table  was  a  table  in  those  days,  and  not  an 
*'  Altar,"  and  looking  back  on  the  matter  it  does  not  appear 
clear  where  else  the  food  could  have  been  safely  placed.  I 
fancy  there  was  no  regular  vestry  and,  excepting  the  floor, 
or  the  seats  of  the  pews,  there  does  not  seem  to  me  to  have 
been  any  other  place  of  moderately  safe  deposit.  However, 
by  and  by  a  room  was  hired  as  a  schoolroom,  and  the 
church  was  freed  from  the  presence  of  the  children  and 
their  dinners.  I  well  remember  our  going  over  in  form  to 
hold  some  sort  of  an  examination,  which  was  wound  up  by 
my  father  (who  was  certainly  better  fitted  to  examine 
witnesses  from  the  magistrate's  bench  than  to  probe  for 
what  information  our  little  uncivilised  urchins  possessed) 
electrifying  the  audience  by  desiring  to  know  whether  his 


Chap,  iv.]  CHURCH   AND   PARISH  25 

examinee  knew  the  use  of  a  pocket-handkerchief.  My 
mother  was  a  more  efficient  aid  by  paying  the  schooling  of 
all  our  own  cottagers'  children,  and  also  in  allaying  strife. 
On  one  occasion,  when  a  woman  wished  to  remove  her 
children  from  the  parish  school  because  they  were  better 
taught  at  a  recently  established  Unitarian  school,  she 
dexterously  overcame  the  difficulty  by  stating  she  meddled 
with  nobody's  conscience,  but  if  the  children  went  to  the 
parish  school  she  paid,  and  if  they  did  not  go  she  didn't. 
We  heard  no  more  on  the  subject. 

Some  of  our  customs  were  very  pretty.  On  Palm 
Sunday,  that  is  the  Sunday  before  Easter  Sunday,  some- 
times known  in  our  part  and  the  district  as  ^'  Flowering 
Sunday,"  it  was  the  custom  to  dress  the  graves  with 
flowers.  Friends  of  the  family  came  from  a  long  distance. 
A  son  of  our  head-gardener  would  come  down  from 
Scotland  for  the  occasion,  and  the  wealth  of  yellow 
daffodils  and  white  narcissus,  which  grew  by  the  Wye, 
close  to  the  little  church  of  Llancaut,  helped  greatly 
towards  the  decoration.  Two  Crown  Imperials  were  a 
greatly  admired  addition  which,  season  permitting,  appeared 
to  ornament  one  special  grave.  The  ^^  flowering "  was  a 
touching  and  pleasing  remembrance  of  the  friends  whose 
bodies  rested  below,  until  in  after  years  the  custom 
gradually  arose  of  placing  artificial  flowers  along  with 
the  fresh  blossoms,  and  then  followed  the  much  to  be 
deprecated  practice  of  putting  little  cases  of  flowers  of 
tinsel,  or  anything  that  was  approved  of,  which  might 
remain  on  the  grave.  At  Christmas  time  we  had  the  real 
old-fashioned  church  decorations  of  good  large  boughs 
of  holly,  with  plenty  of  red  berries,  mistletoe,  laurel,  and 
anything  evergreen  of  a  solid  sort.  The  squire  {i.e.,  my 
father)  contributed  a  cartload  of  evergreen  branches,  and  as 
a  matter  of  course,  they  were  applied  largely  to  ornamenting 
our  corner  pew  with  more  regard  to  appearance  than 
comfort. 

The  service  was  performed  simply,  as  was  customary 
in  those  days,  without  any  music  excepting  the  singing  of 
the  hymns,  but  as  nothing  was  omitted,  and  there  was, 
I  believe,  no  curate,  it  must  have  been  rather  fatiguing 
to  the  vicar,  and  it  certainly  was  a  terribly  long  business 
especially  for  those  not  always  in  good  health,  if  they 
stayed  for  the  Communion  Service  on  the  rare  occasions  on 
which  it  was  administered.  The  drive  from  the  Park  to  the 
bottom  of  the  hill  on  which  the  Church  stood,  was  upwards 


26  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  iv. 

of  two  miles.  Then  came  a  wearying  walk  up  the  hill 
until  this  became  so  steep  that  in  the  Churchyard  there 
were  successive  little  arrangements  of  steps  to  help  us  up 
the  ascent.  Within,  it  seems  to  me,  that  the  clergyman 
neither  excused  himself,  nor  us,  anything  that  might  have 
lightened  the  strain,  bodily  and  mental,  to  the  younger 
attendants.  The  creed  of  St.  Athanasius  was  duly  gone 
through  as  well  as  the  Litany,  and  addresses,  which 
nowadays  are  cut  very  short,  came  at  full  length.  When, 
after  the  return  drive,  we  got  safely  home,  I  will  not  say  but 
that  our  spiritual  state  might  have  been  better  had  our 
bodily  condition  been  less  open  to  the  unsettling  influence 
of  a  desire  for  a  much-needed  meal. 

One  pleasure  of  the  high  days  was  having  the  fine 
old  hymns  for  Easter  or  Christmas,  which  no  bad  singing 
can  spoil,  as  a  variety  on  Sternhold  and  Hopkins,  but  I  still 
bear  in  mind  the  absolute  depression  caused  by  that  doleful 
production,  the  hymn  called  ^^  The  Lamentation  of  a 
Sinner."  To  this  day  it  seems  to  me  that  it  would  be 
better  for  such  a  composition  to  be  omitted  from  our 
service. 

Although  it  appears  to  be  the  correct  thing  for  those  who 
have  been  before  the  public  in  later  life  to  have  reminis- 
cences (or  for  their  biographer  to  invent  them),  of  their 
precocious  piety,  I  cannot  remember  that  I  was  ever  much 
given  that  way.  I  think  that  I  was  as  a  child  kept  in  steady 
paths  of  proper  behaviour,  and  amongst  the  items  taught  was 
certainly  scrupulous  observance  of  the  fifth  commandment  in 
all  its  branches.  Any  deviation  from  truth  was  another  point, 
the  wickedness  of  which  was  most  sedulously  inculcated  ; 
and  I  should  say  that  from  my  earliest  days  I  was  thoroughly 
well  grounded  in  as  much  simple  and  necessary  religious 
information  as  my  small  head  could  carry. 

But  I  did  not  indulge  in  fine  sentiments,  felt  or  expressed, 
and  I  think  that  my  first  absolute  feeling  on  religious 
matters  was  roused  when  in  one  of  our  spring  visits  to 
London,  I  went  regularly  on  Sunday  morning  with  the 
family  to  attend  the  service  at  the  Vere  Street  Chapel,  where 
Mr.  Scobell  was  then  vicar,  and  some  clergyman  of  high 
standing  occasionally  preached.  One  thing  that  was  very 
charming  to  a  girl  who  had  not  heard  anything  of  the 
kind  before,  was  the  hymn  singing.  The  splendid  hymn 
^'  Thou  art  the  way,"  imprinted  itself  on  my  mind,  as 
likewise  a  part  of  a  sermon  by  Mr.  Scobell,  on  the  basis  of 
our  trust   in   God.      He   enumerated  various  of   the  high 


Chap,  iv.]  CHURCH   AND   PARISH  27 

characteristics  of  the  Deity ;  His  boundless  power,  His 
holiness  and  other  characteristics  of  His  majesty.  With  the 
mention  of  each  characteristic  he  put  the  question,  ''  Does 
this  give  you  a  claim  for  acceptance  ?  "  until  he  came  to  the 
climax,  ''  His  love,"  with  the  words  ^^  bid  His  love,  that  you 
may  trust."  Perhaps  if  the  good  man  had  known  how 
these  words  would  abide  to  old  age  as  a  comfort  to  one 
who  was  then  amongst  the  youngest  of  his  congregation, 
it  would  have  given  him  pleasure. 

The  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  the  celebrated  Dr.  Whately, 
also  preached  at  this  Chapel,  and  I  heard  him  deliver 
his  grand  sermon  on  '^he  doubts  leading  to  the  assured 
belief  of  St.  Thomas."  I  suppose  this  time  was  what 
in  some  circles  would  have  been  called  my  ''  awakening," 
but  we  in  our  family  neither  thought  nor  spoke  of  these 
things ;  and  any  allusion  to  such  matters  would  have 
brought  on  me  (possibly  very  rightly)  an  awakening  of 
another  kind,  which  would  have  entirely  disinclined  me 
to  favour  the  family  with  any  religious  views,  beyond 
what  might  be  shown  in  behaving  with  propriety  and  above 
all  doing  as  I  was  bid  to  the  best  of  my  ability. 

Reverting  to  early  recollections  of  ecclesiastical  matters, 
or  things  in  which  the  clergy  might  have  been  expected, 
ex  officio,  to  interfere,  there  certainly  was  room  for  im- 
provement, but  this  was  not  peculiar  to  the  olden  time. 
Some  of  the  curious  circumstances  of  which  accounts 
reached  my  young  ears  are  better  forgotten.  One  thing 
that  I  remember  was  the  very  different  position  relating 
to  sporting,  and  also  to  the  divergence  in  dress  from  the 
great  precision  now  in  vogue.  A  clergyman  of  somewhat 
high  position,  being,  I  suppose,  pressed  for  time  on  one 
occasion,  performed  the  funeral  service  in  his  "  pink " 
visible  beneath  his  surplice.  Another,  subsequently  a 
favourite  with  all  his  poorer  parishioners  for  his  kindness, 
when  a  candidate  for  orders,  was  encouraged  by  his  father 
to  the  necessary  mental  labour  by  the  promise  that  if 
he  passed  his  examination  he  should  have  a  double- 
barrelled  gun  !  In  a  locality  not  far  from  the  edge  of 
Monmouthshire,  I  myself  saw  the  incumbent  of  one  of  the 
small  livings  with  his  coat  off  loading  a  manure  cart  !  He 
comes  back  to  my  memory  as  doing  the  work  quietly 
and  gravely,  and  with  no  more  appearance  of  derogation 
than  if  he  had  been  budding  the  roses  in  his  garden ; 
still  the  work  must  have  taken  a  considerable  amount  of 
time  from  the  purposes  of  his  ordination. 


28  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  iv. 

The  ^^  Oxford  "  or  "Tractarian  Movement"  of  1833-45  ^ 
made  an  enormous  commotion,  and  perhaps  for  a  retired 
locahty  nowhere  more  than  in  our  own  parish. 

After  the  death  of  the  old  vicar,  amongst  a  succession  of 
clergy  the  most  noted  was  Dr.  Armstrong  (presented  i846).2 
With  him  came  the  full  tide  of  the  Oxford  Movement,  and 
as  he  was  a  highly  accomplished  man,  eloquent  in  the 
pulpit,  of  charming  society  manner  in  the  drawing-room, 
and  with  his  heart  fixed  on  driving  his  own  views  of  reform 
and  restoration  forward,  the  holders  of  differing  ecclesias- 
tical views  in  the  parish  were  soon  very  thoroughly  by  the 
ears.  My  father  as  "  squire  "  and  chief  resident  landowner 
had  always  tried  (much  to  his  own  discomfort  at  times)  to 
uphold  the  cause  of  decency  and  order.  But  with  the  new 
arrangements  came  all  sorts  of  trouble  from  an  excess  of  cere- 
monial, and  peace  seemed  to  have  vanished.  The  attempted 
setting  up  of  confession  caused  much  trouble,  and 
difference  of  lay  and  clerical  opinion  in  the  restoration  of  the 
Church  was  a  fertile  cause  of  ill-feeling.  One  special  point 
was  the  right  claimed  by  the  vicar  to  prevent  any  of  the 
general  congregation  entering  the  church  by  the  chancel 
door.  We  had  always  gone  in  that  way,  and  it  was  not 
convenient  to  reach  the  family  pew  by  going  round  two 
sides  of  the  church,  so  my  father  stuck  to  his  legal  rights, 
and  the  door  was  not  visibly  fastened.  But  one  unlucky 
day  when  we,  the  ladies  of  the  family,  arrived  as  usual  and 
tried  to  go  in,  to  our  consternation  it  appeared  impossible 
to  turn  the  latch.  It  was  a  remarkably  pretty  handle — I 
suppose  an  imitation  of  mediaeval  ironwork — but  it  required 
more  than  common  woman's  strength  to  make  this  unlucky 
invention  act  in  admitting  us  to  the  church.  However,  we 
were  not  to  be  kept  out  by  this  ingenious  device.  Muscularly 
I  was  remarkably  strong  from  working  in  wood  and  stone, 

'"The  Oxford  Movement"  or  "Catholic  Revival"  was  initiated 
as  a  result  of  statutory  changes  in  the  position  of  the  Church  of 
Ireland,  which  it  was  feared  might  ultimately  be  extended  to  England. 
The  position  and  possible  danger  of  the  Church  were  fully  discussed 
in  the  Tracts  for  the  Times,  ninety  in  number,  issued  from  Oxford 
during  the  nine  years,  1833-41,  and  chiefly  written  by  Newman,  Keble, 
Pusey,  Williams,  and  Froude.  The  object  of  the  movement  was  to 
rouse  the  members  of  the  whole  Anglican  Community  to  promote 
corporate  reforms  in  the  Anglican  Church  as  a  National  Institution — 
changes  which  the  Evangelical  Revival  of  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century  had  failed  to  introduce.  The  line  adopted  in  the  movement 
has  been  described  as  "  a  via  media  between  Roman  Catholicism  and  Re- 
formation doctrines."     (Ed.). 

*  Afterwards  Bishop  of  Grahamstown,  Cape  Colony. 


Chap,  iv.]  CHURCH   AND   PARISH  29 

and  I  was  perfectly  happy  to  forward  my  father's  wishes,  so 
thenceforward  for  many  a  week  I  went  to  church  with  a 
round  ruler  in  my  pocket,  and  slipping  this  into  the  hanging 
bit  of  ironwork,  I  easily  raised  the  latch  and  gave  my 
mother  and  sisters  entrance  to  church.  I  did  not  object  to 
my  part  of  the  ceremony  in  the  least — rather  liked  it,  in  fact 
— but  looking  back  from  graver  age  it  seems  to  me  that  it 
would  have  been  better  if  the  vicar  had  not  driven  the  squire 
to  defend  the  rights  of  the  congregation  by  such  forcible 
measures.  After  a  while  the  latch  (or  the  vicar's  view  on 
the  subject)  was  loosened,  and  we  obtained  entrance 
without,  like  the  violent,  being  obliged  to  take  it  by  force. 

The  real  troubles  of  the  times  were  endless.  It  was 
even  possible  for  a  sincerely  religious  man  to  absent  himself 
from  the  reception  of  communion  on  the  ground  that  he 
was  not  able  to  participate  with  Christian  comfort  and  in  a 
charitable  frame  of  mind.  Within  the  church  building 
itself  the  condition  of  things  was  not  satisfactory.  The 
openings  beneath  the  very  ^'  open "  seats,  whereby  was 
secured  free  circulation  for  dogs  and  draughts,  were  un- 
pleasant in  various  ways. 

The  appointment  of  our  skilled  and  accomplished  vicar, 
Dr.  Armstrong,  to  the  Bishopric  of  Grahamstown  in  South 
Africa,  for  which  he  was  eminently  fitted,  was  hailed  by 
many  of  us  with  heartfelt  gratitude.  In  later  years,  under 
the  kindly  care  of  the  Rev.  Percy  Burd  (successor  in  1862 
of  the  Rev.  Alan  Cowburn)  who,  without  thinking  it  neces- 
sary to  push  everything  to  extremities,  attended  with  the 
utmost  care  to  proprieties  of  detail  of  worship  in  church,  to 
social  friendliness,  and  to  care  of  the  poor,  we  passed  along 
in  paths  of  comfort  and  peace,  for  which  some  of  us  were 
deeply  grateful. 

Amongst  various  parish  or  local  matters,  of  which  the 
bodily  presence  has,  to  a  great  degree,  passed  away,  and  the 
remembrance  that  at  one  time  such  things  were  has 
probably  faded  from  most  of  the  minds  in  which  they  ever 
held  a  place,  are  turnpike  gates,  with  their  adjoining  toll- 
houses ;  also  the  parish  stocks  and  the  parish  pound. 

In  parochial  arrangements  in  my  day  two  great  improve- 
ments arose,  one  of  which  has  now  long  been  a  regular  part 
of  parish  work,  but  was  new  at  least  to  us.  This  was  a 
women's  clothing  club.  The  other  was  the  commencement 
of  the  plan  of  lending  books  to  those  who  otherwise  would 
rarely  have  seen  them.     It  was  introduced  by  my  sister, 


30  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  iv. 

Georgiana  E.  Ormerod,  when  little  more  than  a  girl,  quite 
at  her  own  expense.  It  was  continued  by  her  without  any 
pecuniary  assistance  (unless  may-be  sometimes  some  small 
co-operation  from  myself)  to  the  end  of  her  long  life. 

The  clothing  club  was  set  on  foot  under  some  diffi- 
culties by  the  wife  of  one  of  the  clergy  resident  in  our 
parish,  for  the  goods  procurable  at  Chepstow,  the  nearest 
town,  were  by  no  means  remarkable  for  their  quality,  and 
Mrs.  Morgan  thought  herself  bound  to  do  the  best  in  her 
power  for  her  poor  subscribers.  So  the  matter  was  accom- 
modated (not  without  a  good  deal  of  grumbling  from 
Chepstow  shopkeepers  about  money  being  taken  out  of 
their  pockets)  by  part  of  the  goods  brought  from  Bristol 
(where  excellent  material  was  to  be  had)  for  the  women  to 
choose  from,  being  sent  previous  to  ^^  club  day  "  to  Mr.  Mor- 
gan's large  and  commodious  house.  In  those  days,  so  far  as  I 
know,  the  plan  of  sending  the  women  with  tickets  to  the 
shops  had  not  been  adopted,  and  our  method,  though 
exceedingly  laborious  to  the  lady  manager  of  the  club,  w^as 
good  for  the  women,  for  it  ensured  that  their  choice  was 
confined  to  the  very  best  materials,  all  of  a  useful  kind,  and 
at  the  lowest  possible  prices. 

When  a  growing  up  girl,  perhaps  about  sixteen,  my  sister 
Georgiana  thought  it  would  be  a  pleasure  to  the  children  of 
our  own  cottagers  to  have  some  entertaining  books,  and  she 
began  by  lending  them  from  the  small  store  which  had 
gradually  come  down  from  the  elders  of  our  generation. 
She  chose  carefully  what  she  thought  would  be  of  interest, 
and  very  soon  the  elder  children  took  to  reading,  or  some- 
times the  fathers  would  read  aloud  to  their  families.  My 
sister  always  either  read  the  books  herself  or  knew  the 
nature  of  the  contents  before  lending  them,  and  when  done 
with  they  were  brought  back  and  exchanged.  The  borrow- 
ing rapidly  spread  beyond  our  own  cottagers  till  it  included 
our  farmers  and  their  friends  at  Gloucester  and  Bristol. 
The  books  were  almost  invariably  treated  with  all  reason- 
able care,  and  scarcely  ever  was  one  a-missing.  Besides  the 
entertainment,  they  acted  as  an  antidote  to  the  attractions 
of  the  public-house.  It  was  a  great  delight  to  my  sister 
when  she  had  a  request  for  a  book,  because  Jack  or  Dick 
was  home  from  his  ship  or  on  a  holiday,  and  they  wanted  a 
book  that  would  keep  him  from  the  ^^  public."  I  attribute 
much  of  my  sister's  success  to  the  care  with  w^hich,  even 
after  her  book-lending  had  extended  to  far-distant  localities, 
she  chose  the  books.     On  one  occasion  when  she  had  made 


Chap,  iv.]  CHURCH   AND   PARISH  31 

a  donation  of  books  of  her  own  choosing  to  the  Lending 
Library,  Bethnal  Green,  London,  she  was  greatly  pleased 
to  hear  that  the  boys  and  girls  had  passed  the  word  round 
amongst  the  factories  of  the  entertaining  books  that  had 
arrived.  Those  we  found  suited  best  (for  I  was  in  some 
degree  her  assistant)  were  accounts  of  real  incidents  made 
into  narratives.  Ballantyne's  earlier  books  with  accounts  of 
the  fire  brigade,  post  office,  lighthouse  and  the  like  were 
great  favourites,  perhaps  none  the  less  for  the  conversations 
being  at  times  a  trifle  vulgar ;  but  when  a  writer  took  up 
some  special  view,  as  of  teetotalism,  high-churchism,  or  any 
other  specialism,  we  dropped  him.  Stories  of  olden  times, 
such  as  the  Plague  in  London,  or  the  Great  Fire  ;  risings  in 
Henry  the  Eighth's  time  ;  wars  of  the  time  of  Charles  the 
First  and  Cromwell  ;  forest  troubles  of  the  time  of  William 
Rufus,  and  the  like — told  as  stories,  with  the  facts  correct 
although  the  thread  on  which  they  were  strung  was 
imaginary — were  always  favourites.  We  seldom  lent  abso- 
lutely religious  books  unless  they  were  asked  for,  and 
then  we  took  care  that  they  should  be  of  a  solid  and  inter- 
esting sort ;  but  whether  sacred  or  secular  the  number  of 
.  books  lent  or  given  for  lending  in  the  course  of  the  year 
was  very  great. 

My  sister  was  a  highly  accomplished  woman,  a  good 
linguist  and  historian,  and  a  careful  scriptural  student.  As 
a  scientific  entomologist  and  a  Fellow  of  the  Entomological 
Society  of  London,  she  was  a  co-operator  with  me  in  my 
work.  She  devoted  her  artistic  talent  for  many  years  to  the 
execution  of  excellent  diagrams,  serviceable  for  agricultural 
purposes,  of  insects  injurious  to  farm  and  orchard  produce, 
some  of  which  she  made  over  to  the  Royal  Agricultural 
Society,  but  the  greater  number  she  presented  to  friends 
interested  in  lessening  the  amount  of  loss  through  insect 
injury,  and  to  Agricultural  Colleges.  From  girlhood  to  old 
age  she  unceasingly  carried  on  her  chosen  work  of  distri- 
bution of  useful  healthy  literature.  She  asked  no  aid,  nor 
made  the  considerable  sums  she  expended,  and  the  careful 
cordial  thought  she  gave  to  this  work,  matter  of  public 
notoriety,  but  in  her  last  moments  it  brought  a  smile  to  her 
face  when  I  told  her  that  I  purposed  to  continue  her  work. 

My  father  when  living  near  Chester  had  the  first  news  on 
a  Sunday  morning  before  church  time,  of  the  Duke  of 
Wellington's  success,  and  that  the  battle  of  Waterloo  had 
been  fought   and  won.     After  service   he   mounted   on   a 


32  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  iv. 

tombstone  and  announced  the  glorious  news  to  the  assem- 
bled congregation.  In  my  early  days  in  Gloucestershire,  a 
neighbour,  Captain  Fenton,  was  at  times  thought  to  be 
tedious  in  his  recurrence  to  the  charge  of  the  Scots  Greys  in 
which  he  had  served,  but  it  was  a  grand  memory  all  the 
same. 

In  a  much  humbler  sphere  and  at  a  different  stage  of  the 
same  great  struggle  an  interesting  part  was  played  by  a  very 
decent  woman — afterwards  a  servant  in  our  family — at  the 
burial  of  Sir  John  Moore  at  Corunna.  She  was  proud  to 
remember  that  she  was  one  of  those  who  held  a  lanthorn  at 
the  ceremony  alluded  to  in  Wolfe's  poem  : — 

"  We  buried  him  darkly  at  dead  of  night 

By  the  struggHng  moonbeams'  misty  light 
And  the  lanthorn  dimly  burning." 


PLATE   IX. 


Sedbury  Park  Property,  the  darkly  shaded  area  between 
Severn  and  Wye. 


CHAPTER   V 

SEVERN    AND  WYE 

The  locality  round  which  most  of  the  recollections  of 
nearly  half  my  life  centre  is  in  the  district  of  Gloucestershire, 
between  the  Severn  and  the  Wye  (opposite  Chepstow  in 
Monmouthshire,  plate  ix.),  almost  at  the  extremity  of  the 
peninsula,  sometimes  not  inaptly  called  the  ^'  Forest  Penin- 
sula," as  some  of  the  "  Hundreds  "  comprised  in  the  more 
widely  extended  area  stretching  on  to  the  Forest  of  Dean 
near  Newnham,are  technically  called  the  ^*  Forest  Hundreds," 
although  what  is  commonly  thought  of  (at  the  present  day) 
as  the  Forest  of  Dean,  has  long  since  ceased  to  be  connected, 
popularly  speaking,  with  the  lower  extremity  of  the  penin- 
sula. This  is  bounded  on  the  two  sides  by  the  Severn  and 
the  Wye  respectively ;  and  at  intervals  it  presents  to  the 
Wye  considerable  frontage  of  high  cliffs  of  mountain  lime- 
stone, and  to  the  Severn  red  marl,  capped  more  or  less  with 
lias.  It  terminates  at  the  junction  of  the  two  rivers  in  a 
small  area,  which  is  an  island  at  high  water,  but  accessibly 
connected  with  the  mainland  at  low  water.  Here,  that  is  on 
the  rocky  ground  at  the  point  of  confluence  of  the  Wye  with 
the  Severn,  were  still  existing  in  my  time  (that  is  up  to  1873) 
the  few  but  massive  remains  of  the  Hermitage  and  Chapels, 
popularly  known  collectively  as  the  Chapel  of  St.  Tecla 
or  Treacle  Island  (plate  x.).  The  name  as  given  by 
William  of  Worcester  in  full  form  is  ^^  Capella  Sancti 
Teriaci  Anachoretce."  He  describes  the  locality  likewise  as 
*'  The  Rok  Seynt  Tryacle,"  but  not  having  now  the  oppor- 
tunity of  consulting  his  observations,  I  am  not  able  to  say 
whether  the  ancient  chronicler  gives  any  reason  for  the 
building  of  this  little  but  massive  knot  of  buildings,  or  for 
its  overthrow,  which  must  have  been  a  somewhat  laborious 
task,  and  from  the  thickness  and  the  solidly  built  nature  of 
the    walls,  one  that  required    co-operation.     In  the  short 

4  33 


34  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  v. 

account  given  by  my  father  in  "  Strigulensia  "  from  which  I 
borrow  some  part  of  these  notes,  he  says,  **  It  would  be 
vain  to  attempt  identification  of  the  Hermit  whose  name 
is  associated  with  the  ruins,  and  who  does  not  appear  in  the 
calendar  of  saints,  but  he  occurs  as  follows  in  the  ^^  Valor 
Ecclesiasticus  "  of  Hen.  VIII.,  vol.  ii.  p.  501,  ^^Capella  Sancti 
Triaci  valet  nihil,  qua  stat  in  mare  et  nulla  proficua  inde 
proveniunt."  Whether  modern  skilled  archaeologists  may 
have  thrown  light  on  the  early  history  of  the  anchorite  and 
his  Severn  and  seaweed-girt  chapel  I  do  not  know,  but  few 
places  could  be  found  less  attractive  for  the  archaeological 
picnic-excursions  which  have  become  fashionable  of  late 
years.  Even  to  my  brothers  and  myself,  accustomed  as  we 
were  to  Severn  mud,  and  to  picking  our  way  fairly  safely  over 
and  amongst  the  coarse  brown  slippery  seaweed  fronds 
(chiefly,  if  I  remember  rightly,  the  Fucus  serratiis),  the  passage 
over  such  parts  as  were  not  then  submerged  was  an  exceed- 
ingly muddy  progress,  needing  a  deal  of  care  lest  we  should 
take  a  sudden  slide  into  one  of  the  little  rock  basins  con- 
cealed by  the  ^'  kelp"  or  other  coarse  brown  seaweed.  But 
once  arrived,  it  was  very  pleasant  to  sit  in  the  sunshine  and 
enjoy  the  glorious  view  down  the  Estuary  of  the  Severn, 
the  fresh  salt  air  blowing  round  us,  or  otherwise  employ 
ourselves  to  our  fancy.  From  careful  measurements  we 
found  the  length  of  the  chapel  to  have  been  31  feet  6 
inches,  the  width  14  feet  6  inches,  and  the  thickness  of  the 
walls,  wherever  sufficient  remained  for  observation,  approxi- 
mately 3  feet.i  We  had  to  be  quick  in  our  operations  and 
our  return  had  to  be  kept  in  mind,  or  we  should  have  had  to 
be  fetched  off  in  a  boat,  and  under  all  circumstances  it  was 
probably  best  for  the  sake  of  appearances  that  our  walk 
home  should  be  as  far  as  possible  by  the  fields  or  under  the 
cliffs  where  minutiae  as  to  condition  of  boots,  _&c.,  were 
unimportant. 

The  characteristics  of  the  scenery  of  each  of  the  rivers  are 
wholly  different.  The  Severn  above  Beachley  and  Aust  (in 
former  days  the  land-points  of  the  much-used  '^Old  Passage  ") 
spreads  into  a  wide  area  of  water,  perhaps  about  a  mile  wide 
at  the  narrowest,  and  at  high  tide  forming  a  noble  lake-like 
expanse.  The  Wye,  on  the  contrary,  as  shown  in  the  map 
(plate  IX.),  takes  its  sinuous  and  narrow  course  between 
successive  promontories,  projecting  alternately  from  the 
Gloucestershire  and  Monmouthshire  banks. 

^  My  notes  are  taken  from  the  copy  of  a  plan  (now  before  me)  by  my 
brother  Henry  Mere  Ormerod,  solicitor,  Manchester  :  see  page  58. 


PLATE      X. 


KuiNED  Anchorite's  Chapel  of  St.  Tecla,  on  the  Chapel  Kock 
WHERE  Severn  and  Wye  meet. 

From  a  sketch  hij  Miss  E.  A.  Ormerod. 
{p.  33.) 


Severn  Cliffs,  Sedbury  Park. 
{p.  40.) 


To  face  p.  34. 


Chap.-v.]  SEVERN  AND  WYE  35 

Across  some  considerable  portion  of  the  river  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  or  so  above  Beachley,  on  the  Gloucestershire  side,  a 
rocky  ledge  of  limestone  called  ^'The  Lyde"  projects  at  low 
tide,  causing  a  backwater  of  which  the  steady  roar  can  be 
heard  at  a  long  distance.^  Cormorants  on  the  rock,  and 
conger-eels  below  it,  were  regular  inhabitants  or  visitors — 
the  former  presumably  attracted  by  the  latter,  which  served 
to  some  degree  also  as  food  to  the  fishermen,  although 
pronounced  to  be  "slobbery-like." 

The  muddy  colour  of  the  Severn  was  not  in  itself 
picturesque — at  least  I  have  never  heard  the  point  men- 
tioned with  admiration  ;  but  to  me,  born  as  I  was  by  this 
noblest  of  our  rivers,  it  seemed  to  convey  a  comfortable  idea 
of  homeliness  and  strength.  Sometimes,  however,  in  the 
early  morning  or  in  certain  conditions  of  light,  the  deep 
rosy  colouring  was  almost  as  if  the  whole  width  of  water 
had  been  changed  to  blood ;  then  the  effect  was  very 
splendid,  and  as  wonderful  still  as  it  must  have  been  in 
days  long  gone  by  to  Queen  Boadicea  : — 

"  Still  rolls  thy  crimson  flood  in  glory  on 
As  when  of  old  its  deep  ensanguined  dye 
Told  to  the  warrior  Queen  her  falling  throne, 
Her  people's  death,  the  foemen's  victory." 

But,  independently  of  other  considerations,  a  bend  in  the 
river  was  of  great  local  service.  It  formed  a  bay  of  about 
perhaps  three-quarters  of  a  mile  across,  bounded  to  the 
west  by  our  own  and  the  Beach  ley  cliffs,  and  further 
protected,  or  endangered,  on  the  southern  side  by  a  low 
range  of  rocks  running  out  into  the  river.  With  the  rising 
tide  the  import  shipping  to  Gloucester,  which  in  those  days 
was  extensive,  put  in  here  to  be  searched  by  the  Custom 
House  officials.  At  that  time  (excepting  tugs)  it  was  entirely 
composed  of  sailing  vessels  mostly  laden  with  corn,  wine, 
and  timber,  and  the  mixed  fleet  moving  about  in  the  bay 
with  colours  flying  was  a  very  lively  sight.  In  due  time 
they  passed  on — the  three-masters,  ships,  and  barques,  or 
the    graceful   chasse-mar^es,    taking   the   lead ;    brigs   and 

'  The  Sailing  Directions  for  the  West  Coast  of  England,  published 
by  the  Hydrographic  Department  of  the  Admiralty,  says  : — "  Depths  : 
There  is  a  depth  of  about  46  feet  in  the  river  to  Chepstow  at  high  water 
springs,  and  36  feet  at  high  water  neaps."  "  Tides  :  It  is  high  water, 
full  and  change,  at  Chepstow  at  7  h.  30  m.  local  or  7  h.  41  m.  Greenwich 
time ;  mean  springs  rise  38  feet  and  neaps  28^  feet.  The  tide  has, 
however,  been  known  to  rise  as  high  as  56  feet."    (E.A.O.) 


3^  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  v. 

schooners  following,  and  sloops  and — if  weather  permitted 
— Severn  trows  bringing  up  the  rear.  These,  however,  as 
they  differed  very  little  in  formation  from  canal  barges, 
required  tolerably  fair  or  at  least  quiet  weather  to  allow 
them  to  proceed  in  safety.  The  procession  of  shipping 
came  along  almost  beneath  our  cliffs,  the  deep  channel 
being  on  that  side,  and  perhaps  it  was  as  well  that  they 
were  no  nearer,  or  the  nautical  remarks  might  have  been 
more  often  audible  to  the  young  people  than  was  desirable  ! 
A  special  convenience  to  ourselves  was  a  little  creek  under 
the  chffs,  called  in  those  parts  a  ^^pill"  (presumably  from  the 
Welsh  pwU  or  pool),  which  allowed  of  coals  being  run  in 
a  sloop  across  from  Bristol  and  carted  up  to  the  house  by  a 
shorter  road  than  that  from  Chepstow. 

Salmon  fishing  was  carried  on  partly  by  nets  from  fishing 
boats,  partly  by  rows  of  baskets  known  as  ''  putts "  or 
"  putchers."     The  boats  during  the  boat  fishing  lay  above 


FIG.  (a).— PUTCHER  FOR  CATCHING  SALMON. 

the  edge  of  the  water  on  the  sloping  and  slippery  frontage  of 
the  shore.  When  the  tide  served  for  fishing,  the  men  went 
down  from  the  village  above  the  cliffs  to  their  boats  across  the 
flat  and  precipitously-edged  grass,  between  the  base  of  the  low 
cliffs  and  the  sloping  shore.  Each  man  wriggled  with  might 
and  main  at  his  boat  till  he  loosened  its  adhesion  to  the  ten- 
acious mud  and  started  it  on  its  slide  with  its  bows  foremost 
towards  the  water.  Once  off,  of  course  the  pace  accelerated  ; 
its  owner,  running  behind,  held  on  and  clambered  in  as  best 
he  could,  and  the  two  arrived  safely  and  with  a  great  jolt  on 
the  water.  The  boats  then  formed  in  line,  secured  by  being 
tied  stern  to  stern  at  about  a  boat's  length  from  each  other, 
and  presumably  anchored  also,  but  this  I  do  not  remember. 
The  net  of  each  boat  was  lowered,  and  nothing  further 
occurred  till  a  fish  was  captured ;  then  the  net  was  lifted, 
the  fish,  shining  in  all  the  beauty  of  its  silvery  scales,  taken 
out,  and  the  net  lowered  again.     These  were  the  best  fish  ; 


Chap,  v.]  SEVERN  AND  WYE  37 

those  that  were  caught  in  the  putts  were  "drowned  "  fish,  and 
unless  the  fishermen  were  fairly  on  the  alert  to  secure  them 
before  the  falling  tide  had  left  the  baskets  long  uncovered, 
there  was  a  very  good  chance  of  the  eyes  being  pecked  out 
or  the  fish  otherwise  disfigured  by  birds. 

The  putcher  or  basket  fishing  was  carried  on  by  means 
of  very  open  extinguisher-shaped  baskets  each  long  enough 
to  hold,  it  can  hardly  be  said  accommodate,  a  good-sized 
salmon.  The  frame  or  stand  on  which  these  baskets  were 
fixed  was  formed  of  two  rows  of  strong  poles  or  upright 
pieces  of  wood,  running  down  the  shore,  across  the  narrow 
of  the  river,  for  many  yards,  firmly  fixed  between  high  and 
low  tide  level,  at  such  a  distance  as  would  allow  the  baskets 
to  reach  from  one  side  to  the  other.  Horizontal  poles  or 
pieces  of  wood  connected  the  upright  poles,  and  to  these 
horizontal  supports  the  baskets  were  attached,  so  as  to  form 
rows  with  the  open  ends  of  the  extinguishers  facing  up 
stream  and  all  ranged  one  storey  above  the  other.  The 
fish  were  drifted  into  the  basket  trap,  and  of  course,  though 
they  might  injure  themselves  in  their  struggles,  and  to 
some  degree  their  market  value,  they  were  pow^erless  to  effect 
their  escape  and  withdraw  backward  against  the  set  of  the 
tide.i 

The  much  larger  form  of  basket  described  by  Mr.  Buck- 
land  as  "putts,"  and  as  being  used  for  catching  flat  fish,  was 
of  a  slightly  different  make — formed  only  of  two  instead  of 
three  pieces  ;  one  large  piece,  so  wide  at  the  opening  that  I, 
as  a  girl,  had  no  difficulty  in  standing  within  it,  and  a  very 
much  smaller  piece,  forming  a  kind  of  nose.  This  little 
adjunct  was,  I  believe,  taken  off  and  searched  by  the  fisher- 
men for  what  it  contained.  To  my  sister  Georgiana  and 
myself  it  was  a  great  pleasure  to  go  down  to  where  the  two 
great  eel-putts  stood  on  clean  shore  at  very  low  tide  below 
the  longest  row  of  salmon-putchers,  and  search  for  anything 
that  was  to  be  found.  My  sister  was  a  good  conchologist. 
We  searched  for  seaweed,  &c.,  &c.,  and  thereby  got  a 
deal  of  pleasant  amusement.  The  fishermen,  who  knew  us 
well,  made  no  objection  to  our  investigations,  though,  as 
one  of  the  men  remarked  on  one  occasion,  "  It  was  not 
everybody  they  liked  to  see  near  the  putts." 

In    our   immediate    neighbourhood   the   fishermen    w^ere 

quiet^t    least   I   never    heard  of    their  getting  into  very 

objectionable  difficulties — but  about  eight  miles  higher  up 

the  river,  near  Lydney,  things  in  this  respect  were  by  no 

'  See  Appendix  A. 


38  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  v. 

means  all  that  could  be  wished.  On  one  occasion  they 
captured  the  Fishery  Inspector  himself — whose  duty  it  was 
to  ascertain  that  the  meshes  were  not  below  a  certain 
measurement — and  secured  him  in  the  nets.  Another  time 
somebody  (who,  unluckily  for  him,  bore  some  resemblance 
to  the  obnoxious  inspector)  got  nearly  sloughed  up  in  one 
of  the  great  marsh  ditches,  and  would  have  been  left  to  live 
or  die  as  might  chance — probably  the  latter — but  for  the 
arrival  of  timely  help.  My  father  being  one  of  the  acting 
magistrates  of  the  district,  we  used  to  hear  from  time  to 
time  of  these  and  other  ^'mauvaises  plaisanteries '•  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  Forest  of  Dean. 

On  reference  to  the  portion  of  the  Ordnance  Map 
(plate  IX.)  it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  a  broad  band 
marked  "mud,"  of  about  a  sixth  of  a  mile  in  width  at 
the  widest  part  and  extending  for  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
by  the  side  of  the  deep  channel  of  the  Severn,  between 
it  and  the  cliffs  of  the   Beachley  and  Sedbury  Bay. 

The  most  remarkable  capture  of  which  I  have  any  recol- 
lection as  taking  place  in  the  waters,  or  rather  in  the  mud  of 
the  Severn,  was  said  to  be  a  "  Bottle-nosed  whale,"  or 
Dolphin,  Delphinus  tursio,  Fabr.,  but  it  was  so  many 
decades  of  years  ago,  that  I  have  no  means  now  of  turning 
to  any  record  for  verification  of  the  species.  The  capture 
itself  excited  a  deal  of  local  interest.  It  was  on  a  summer 
morning  that  one  of  my  brothers,  enlivening  his  vacation 
studies,  as  was  his  custom,  by  watching  through  his  tele- 
scope anything  of  interest  that  might  be  going  on  amongst 
the  shipping  or  elsewhere,  saw  something  like  an  enormous 
fish  struggling  and  "  flopping  "  on  the  Beachley  pier  of  the 
old  Passage  Ferry.  As  a  matter  of  course,  we  young  folks 
set  off  after  luncheon  to  have  our  share  of  the  sight,  and 
found  the  creature  had  been  captured  when  lying  helpless, 
or  half  dead,  in  the  mud  at  the  Aust  side  of  the  Ferry,  and 
had  been  towed  across  behind  a  boat.  At  this  distance 
of  time  I  only  remember  the  whale-  or  dolphin-like  shape  of 
the  anim.al,  its  great  size,  and  that  it  was  apparently  of  a 
greyish  colour  ;  but  this  item  might  very  likely  be  from  its 
being  coated  with  Severn  mud.  In  Bell's  "  British  Quadru- 
peds "  the  greatest  length  recorded  of  various  specimens 
found  in  England  is  12  feet.  The  colour  of  the  back  is 
black,  with  a  purplish  tinge,  becoming  dusky  on  the  sides, 
and  dirty  white  on  the  belly.  This  species  is  considered 
rare  in  England  and  it  is  of  some  interest,  in  referring  to  the 


Chap,  v.]  SEVERN   AND  WYE  39 

locality  of  what  may  be  called  our  own  capture,  that  "  The 
first  account  which  we  have  of  its  appearance  on  our  own 
shores  is  that  of  John  Hunter/*  and  it  was  taken  with  its 
young  one  ^^  on  the  sea  coast  near  Berkeley  "  ;  that  is  about 
two  or  three  miles  higher  up  the  left  bank  of  the  Severn 
than  the  Aust  Cliffs.  Another  specimen  was  found  in 
the  river  Dart  in  Devonshire,  and,  it  was  stated,  ^^was  killed 
with  difficulty,  the  poor  animal  having  suffered  for  four 
hours  the  attacks  of  eight  men  armed  with  spears  and  two 
guns,  and  assisted  by  dogs.  When  wounded  it  made  a 
noise  like  the  bellowing  of  a  bull."i  In  the  case  of  the 
Old  Passage  specimen  the  poor  creature  was  also  most 
barbarously  treated,  chiefly  by  being  attacked  by  the 
running  of  hay  forks,  pitch  forks,  and  the  like,  into  its  body, 
and  I  remember  a  good  deal  of  chopping  with  hatchets 
or  axes,  but  it  was  quite  quiet  and,  it  was  to  be  hoped,  was 
past  feeling  pain.  Immense  popular  interest,  of  course,  was 
excited  as  to  the  precise  nature  of  the  unusual  "  take,"  as  to 
whether  it  was  a  Leviathan,  or  possibly  the  kind  of  fish 
that  swallowed  Jonah — but  the  affair  ended  by  the  creature 
being  shipped  off  to  Bristol  to  be  turned  into  a  little  money 
for  the  boatmen  who  secured  it,  and  no  other  cetacean  was 
taken  during  the  remainder  of  the  years  in  which  Sedbury 
was  my  home. 

The  most  observable  of  the  seaweeds,  which  grew  on  the 
rocks  or  large  stones,  more  or  less  in  the  muddy  salt  water 
between  tide  levels  at  the  mouth  of  the  Severn,  were  of  the 
genus  FuctiSy  which  at  one  time  was  much  used  in  the 
making  of  kelp.  The  ornamental  kinds  always  appeared  to 
me  to  be  unaccountably  absent.  They  were  not  to  be 
expected  to  make  this  place  their  habitat,  but,  still,  their 
almost  total  absence  in  the  masses  of  drift  matter  left  by  the 
retiring  tide  struck  me  as  curious.  In  my  most  successful 
searches  I  do  not  remember  ever  being  fortunate  enough  to 
secure  even  a  fragment  of  the  lovely  Oak-leaf,  Delesseria, 
with  its  bright,  rosy-veined  leaves  from  as  much  as  4  inches 
to  8  inches  in  length  placed  along  their  cylindrical  stem,  or 
the  Peacock  seaweed,  Padina  pavonea,  with  its  concentric 
markings.  Of  Iceland  Moss  there  might  be  a  battered 
morsel.  The  general  composition  of  the  driftage  was 
composed  of  little  except  what  might  be  grown  in  the 
neighbourhood,  mixed  with  sugar  cane  or  packing  material 

'  See  quotations  in  Hist,  of  British  Quadrupeds,  including  the  Cetacea, 
by  Thomas  Bell,  F.R.S.,  &c.  pp.  469-472. 


40  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  v. 

thrown  from  the  vessels.  This,  however,  seemed  to  me  of 
some  interest  in  connection  with  the  set  of  the  currents. 
Here,  however,  I  am  out  of  my  element,  but  as  my  brother 
Dr.  Ormerod  employed  me  as  a  collector,  I  am  not  personally 
responsible. 

The  distinct  varieties  of  soil,  and  also  the  geographical 
and  the  geological  surroundings  of  Sedbury,  were  un- 
usually favourable  to  natural  history  investigations,  whether 
of  fauna  and  flora  of  the  present  day,  or  of  fossil  remains 
of  saurians  and  shells.  These  were  easily  accessible  as  they 
fell  from  the  frontage  of  lias,  or  the  narrow  horizontal  strip 
in  the  cliffs  (plate  x.)  facing  the  Severn,  well  known  to 
the  geologists  as  the  "bone  bed."  At  the  highest  part 
the  cliffs  were  about  140  feet,  calculating  from  medium 
tide  level.  There  the  face  had  been  quarried  back 
for  a  supply  of  lias  limestone,  used  in  enlarging  the 
offices  of  the  house,  and  in  so  doing  had  laid  bare  a  fine 
bed  of  so-called  ''  Venus"  shells.  We  used  to  find  beautiful 
specimens  of  those  shells,  irrespective  of  this  extra  fine 
deposit,  and  also  of  "patens,"  oysters  of  some  kind, 
which  we  sought  for  unweariedly,  hammer  in  hand.  The 
greatest  matters  of  interest,  however,  were  the  saurian,  or 
the  fish  remains,  of  which  we  sometimes  found  a  plentiful 
supply  of  specimens  of  little  value,  and  now  and  then  some 
of  considerable  interest. 

The  Sedbury  cliffs  lie  nearly  north  of  the  Aust  cliff,  and 
contain  the  Aust  bone-bed,  from  which  the  Severn,  about  a 
mile  wide,  or  somewhat  more,  there  divides  them.  Geo- 
logically, in  all  important  characteristics,  I  believe  the  two 
cliffs  correspond.  Of  this  bone-bed  it  is  noted  by  Sir 
Charles  Lyell^  :  "In  England  the  Lias  is  succeeded  by 
conformable  strata  of  red  and  green  marl  or  clay.  There 
intervenes,  however,  both  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Ex- 
mouth,  in  Devonshire,  and  in  the  cliffs  of  Westbury  and 
Aust,  in  Gloucestershire,  on  the  banks  of  the  Severn,  a 
dark-coloured  stratum,  well  known  by  the  name  of  the 
^bone-bed.'  It  abounds  in  the  remains  of  saurians  and 
fish,  and  was  formerly  classed  as  the  lowest  bed  of  Lias  ; 
but  Sir  P.  Egerton  has  shown  that  it  should  be  referred  to 
as  the  Upper  New  Red  Sandstone."  The  reasons  given 
are  not  of  interest  to  the  general  reader.  From  the  fallen 
debris  of  this  we  collected  vertebrae,  single,  or  sometimes  a 
few   in   connection,  also   bones  of  the   paddles,  and   any 

'  Manual  of  Elementary  Geology,  by  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  F.R.S., 
fifth  edition,  1855,  pp.  337,  3^8. 


PLATE   XI. 


Roman  Pottery,  found  in  Sedbury  Park. 

From  a  dratcing  by  Bliss  E.  A.  Ormcrod. 

{p.  18.) 


Saurian  from  the  Lias,  Sedbury  Cliffs. 
ip.  41.) 


To  face  p.  40. 


Chap,  v.]  SEVERN   AND  WYE  41 

amount  of  teeth,  also  coprolites,  the  excrementitious  matter 
of  the  living  owners  of  the  bones.  These  were  in  great 
quantity,  but  I  never  remember  that  they  were  other  than 
irregular  lumps,  and  though  some  of  us  were  much  given 
to  grinding  and  polishing  stones  that  afforded  hope  of  an 
ornamental  result,  it  never  occurred  to  us  to  exercise  our 
talents  on  these  lumps,  which  might  have  indicated  in  their 
undigested  contents  some  evidence  of  the  diet  of  their 
consumers. 

The  only  valuable  or  interesting  specimen  of  Saurian 
remains  (that  is  of  an  animal  in  moderate  degree  of  en- 
tirety) fell  from  the  cliffs  after  I  had  ceased  to  reside 
there.  This  was  a  slab  of  Lias  about  3  feet  long  by  2 
feet  broad,  and  about  7  to  9  inches  thick  (plate  xi.)  The 
history  of  its  fall,  as  given  to  me  in  a  letter  from  Dr.  John 
Yeats,  F.R.G.S.,  then  residing  at  Chepstow,  dated  September, 
1882,  was,  that  ^'  From  one  of  the  ledges,  or  from  the  top 
of  a  slip  or  subsidence,  a  fir  tree  was  blown  down  during 
the  autumn  of  1882  .  .  .  The  fossil  was  found  beneath 
the  roots,"  and  "  the  fossil  remains  were  laid  bare  by  a 
conchoidal  fracture."  A  few  detached  vertebrae  were  col- 
lected, but  unfortunately  no  part  of  the  head  was  secured. 
Of  this  specimen  Professor  Richard  Owen  was  good  enough 
to  report  to  Dr.  Yeats  on  the  24th  of  May,  1883,  as 
follows  :  ^*  From  the  concavity  of  the  articular  surfaces 
of  the  vertebrae,  I  infer  it  to  be  part  of  an  ichthyosaurus, 
and  the  number  and  character  of  the  ribs  agree  with  that 
deduction.  If  any  part  of  the  jaws  or  teeth  should  be 
found  near  the  locality  it  would  decide  the  matter." 

This  fossil  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Sir  William  H. 
Marling,  at  Sedbury. 

The  surface  of  the  cliffs  was  of  a  very  mixed  nature,  with 
ledges  of  stone  projecting  slightly  in  places,  and  from  the 
effect  of  weathering,  landslips,  leading  at  times  to  incon- 
venience, were  not  infrequent.  As  we  knew  the  nature  of 
the  ground  we  were  careful  about  going  near  the  edge  of 
the  top  of  the  cliff,  where  a  precipice  or  a  crack  showed 
danger,  but  it  happened  more  than  once  that  a  bullock  or 
calf,  attracted  by  food  to  be  found  amongst  the  trees  or 
bushes  which  in  some  places  clothed  the  slanting  upper 
part,  was  tempted  beyond  safe  footing,  and  toppled  down 
to  the  bottom  to  its  own  destruction.  On  one  occasion,  on 
returning  from  a  walk,  my  sister  Georgiana  and  I,  not 
having  noticed  a  fall  from  the  cliffs,  were  cut  off  by  one  of 
these  slips  from  any  comfortable  advance,     It  was  not  a 


42  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  v. 

case  of  danger,  but  a  choice  between  much  wet  and  dirt 
from  Severn  mud,  or  very  considerable  discomfort  of 
another  sort,  as  the  slip  had  brought  down  with  it 
brambles,  &c.,  &c.,  most  unpleasant  to  brave  for  the  sake 
of  dryness.  We  preferred  the  wet  passage,  feeling  our  way 
with  our  feet  through  the  muddy  water  from  one  good- 
sized  stone  to  another,  and  presently  arrived  safely  above 
the  high-tide  level,  but  to  those  who  did  not  know  that 
beneath  the  muddy  surface  there  was  a  sound  footing  if 
sought  for,  the  little  episode  might  have  been  unpleasant. 


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CHAPTER  VI 

RRY,   AND   RAILWAY 

In  my  early  days  much  of  the  passenger  transit  of  South 
Wales  and  the  south-westerly  part  of  England  passed  over 
the  old  Passage  Ferry  across  the  Severn  from  Beach  ley  to 
Aust,  and  consequently  the  coaches  all  passed  our  park  gates. 
It  was  said  there  were  fourteen  coaches  a  day.  On  this  I 
am  unable  to  offer  an  opinion,  but  there  were  a  great 
number,  and  amongst  them  were  two  mails.  The  road  to 
the  head  of  the  old  Passage  Pier,  from  Chepstow,  was  about 
three  and  a  half  miles  in  length,  and  very  hilly  (going  up 
one  ascent,  long  or  short  as  the  case  might  be,  to  go  down 
another),  with  the  exception  of  two  lengths  of  flat  "  gallop- 
ing ground."  These  well  deserved  their  name,  and  I  can  still 
remember  the  swing  of  violent  speed  at  which  the  high,  piled- 
up  vehicle  tore  past  us,  causing  children  and  accompanying 
dogs  to  allow  it  a  very  free  passage.  The  journey  was 
not  without  risk  of  disaster,  for  on  one  occasion  in  turning 
a  sharp  angle,  on  the  incline  of  a  steep  shore-hill,  with- 
out due  care,  the  coach  lurched  to  the  outward  side  of 
the  curve  and  made  a  distribution  of  its  outside  passengers 
on  the  greensward  by  our  park  gates.  It  certainly  would 
have  been  a  great  help  in  those  days  if  the  wish  (though 
not  exactly  as  he  expressed  it)  of  the  driver  of  one  of  the 
more  old-fashioned  of  the  coaches  could  have  been  carried 
out,  and  ^^  a  little  akyduct "  made  to  convey  the  road  from 
the  top  of  one  hill  to  the  next,  thus  avoiding  the  dangerous 
descent. 

The  view  from  the  tops  of  the  coaches  as  they  galloped 
along  the  flat  road  at  the  summit  of  the  Severn  cliffs  down 
to  the  Ferry  pier  was  very  beautiful.  On  one  side  was  the 
Severn,  a  mile  wide  at  the  narrowest,  with  the  red  Aust 
cliffs  opposite,  the  Sedbury  cliffs  above ;  and,  in  the  distance, 
about  thirty  miles  away  up  the  river,  the  hills,  near  or 
beyond  Gloucester,  could  be  faintly  seen.     On  the  other 

43 


CHAPTER  VI 

RRY,   AND   RAILWAY 

In  my  early  days  much  of  the  passenger  transit  of  South 
Wales  and  the  south-westerly  part  of  England  passed  over 
the  old  Passage  Ferry  across  the  Severn  from  Beachley  to 
Aust,  and  consequently  the  coaches  all  passed  our  park  gates. 
It  was  said  there  were  fourteen  coaches  a  day.  On  this  I 
am  unable  to  offer  an  opinion,  but  there  were  a  great 
number,  and  amongst  them  were  two  mails.  The  road  to 
the  head  of  the  old  Passage  Pier,  from  Chepstow,  was  about 
three  and  a  half  miles  in  length,  and  very  hilly  (going  up 
one  ascent,  long  or  short  as  the  case  might  be,  to  go  down 
another),  with  the  exception  of  two  lengths  of  flat  "gallop- 
ing ground."  These  well  deserved  their  name,  and  I  can  still 
remember  the  swing  of  violent  speed  at  which  the  high,  piled- 
up  vehicle  tore  past  us,  causing  children  and  accompanying 
dogs  to  allow  it  a  very  free  passage.  The  journey  was 
not  without  risk  of  disaster,  for  on  one  occasion  in  turning 
a  sharp  angle,  on  the  incline  of  a  steep  shore-hill,  with- 
out due  care,  the  coach  lurched  to  the  outward  side  of 
the  curve  and  made  a  distribution  of  its  outside  passengers 
on  the  greensward  by  our  park  gates.  It  certainly  would 
have  been  a  great  help  in  those  days  if  the  wish  (though 
not  exactly  as  he  expressed  it)  of  the  driver  of  one  of  the 
more  old-fashioned  of  the  coaches  could  have  been  carried 
out,  and  "  a  little  akyduct "  made  to  convey  the  road  from 
the  top  of  one  hill  to  the  next,  thus  avoiding  the  dangerous 
descent. 

The  view  from  the  tops  of  the  coaches  as  they  galloped 
along  the  flat  road  at  the  summit  of  the  Severn  cliffs  down 
to  the  Ferry  pier  was  very  beautiful.  On  one  side  was  the 
Severn,  a  mile  wide  at  the  narrowest,  with  the  red  Aust 
cliffs  opposite,  the  Sedbury  cliffs  above ;  and,  in  the  distance, 
about  thirty  miles  away  up  the  river,  the  hills,  near  or 
beyond  Gloucester,  could  be  faintly  seen.     On  the  other 

43 


44  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  vi. 

side,  about  a  field  or  two  from  the  road,  was  the  lowest  part 
of  the  Wye  at  its  point  of  juncture  with  the  Severn,  and  the 
noble  estuary  itself  opening  out  from  about  four  miles 
width  till  it  was  lost  to  view  in  the  distance  of  the  Severn 
Sea. 

The  Old  Passage,  though  probably  as  well  managed  as 
was  reasonably  possible,  was,   in   many  respects,  a   most 

TIME  TABLE  ILLUSTRATING  THE  METHOD  OF  TRAVELLING 
200  YEARS  AGO. 

YORK  Four  Days 
Stage-Coach. 

B^msonfndsythe  iztb.  of  April  1706. 

ALL  that  arc  defjroustopafsfrom  Ldfjubn  io  Tor}{^ 
or  from  Torf[  to  -London,  or  any  other  PlacC 
on  that  Road;  Let  them  Repair  to  the  Bhcf^Sv^anw. 
Holbourn-  m  Londo/i,  at\d  to  the  hlacl\Sman  m  Coney 
putxn  Torfi- 

At  boihwhicli  Places,  they  may  be  received  in  a 
Stage  Coach  every  Monday,  WednejdiTf  and  Friday, 
wrbjch  performs  the  whole  J  ourneym  Four  Days,  {if 
Cod  jxrmttj,)  And  fcts  forth  at  Five  m  theMormng. 

And  returns  from  Tor\  to  Stamford  in  two  days, 
and  from  Stamford  by  Huntington  to  London  in  tvw) 
days  more      And  the  like  Stages  on  their  remrn. 

f  Benjamin  KingijioM. 
Performed  By  \  Henrjr  Harr'tfon, 
\WaIU7  Sa^es, 

Alfo  thii  gives Nolicethdt  Ncwcaftlc  Stage  Coach,{ct5 
out  (rem  YorK.  every  Monday,  and  Friday,  and 


inconvenient  necessity.  On  one  occasion,  while  fourteen 
passengers  were  crossing  in  a  sailing  boat,  every  living 
thing,  except  one  dog,  perished  in  mid-transit.  It  was  on  a 
stormy  Sunday  in  September,  1838,  and  the  boat  was  heavily 
laden  with  horses  as  well  as  the  passengers.  How  the 
accident  happened  was  never  known.  One  of  my  brothers 
had  been  watching  the  boat  from  our  cliffs,  and  on  looking 
again,  after  a  minute  or  so^  she  was  gone.     The  conjectural 


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Chap,  vl]     COACH,   FERRY,   AND   RAILWAY  45 

cause  of  the  disaster  was  that  one  of  the  horses  had  become 
unruly.  The  assignment  of  the  disaster  to  a  judgment  for 
travelHng  on  Sunday,  may  be  looked  on  as  a  state  of  feeling 
very  desirable  to  be  removed  by  changing  times,  which  have 
brought  a  larger  charitableness  and  greater  common  sense. 

A  novel  custom  was  associated  with  the  Old  Passage.  A 
man  suspected  of  possible  infection  of  hydrophobia,  was 
put  into  the  salt  water,  and  towed  about  in  the  Severn  at 
the  stern  of  a  boat.  In  the  event  of  a  man  having  been 
bitten  by  a  stray  dog,  this  operation  made  his  village  ac- 
quaintances much  easier  in  their  minds  about  him.  They 
had  also  the  fun,  and  in  any  case  the  patient  would  not  be 
the  worse  for  a  thorough  good  washing  ! 

The  appliances  of  the  ferry  were  a  steam  boat  and  various 
sailing  boats,  including  one  known  as  the  Mail-boat,  as  well 
as  on  the  Beachley  side,  an  apparatus  acting  as  a  telegraph. 
This  consisted  of  an  arrangement  of  board  which,  when  at 
rest,  resembled  a  wooden  window  shutter  about  a  couple  of 
yards  square,  fastened  to  one  of  the  buildings ;  and,  by  some 
code  of  signals  of  an  exceedingly  simple  sort,  requisite  direc- 
tions were  conveyed  across  the  river  as  to  the  boat  service. 

On  our  side  there  was  one  solidly  built  pier,  serviceable 
for  shipment  of  passengers  or  goods  at  all  states  of  the 
tide,  and  accessible  for  all  kinds  of  carriage  use  from 
the  good  road  which  terminated  at  the  top  in  front  of  a 
small  kind  of  hotel  ;  it  likewise  had  the  desirable  security, 
for  the  greater  part  of  its  length,  of  strong  posts  with  chains 
between  them.  On  the  Aust  side  there  was  a  high-  and  also 
a  low-water  pier,  not  far  apart,  a  little  way  below  the  inn, 
and  if  the  tide  served  for  boats  to  reach  these  all  went  fairly 
well  after  disembarking,  but  it  was  a  different  matter  at  half- 
tide.  The  half-tide  pier  was  a  considerable  distance  from 
the  others — a  quarter  or  half  a  mile  away  beneath  the  cliffs, 
and  mud  and  stones  and  the  roughest  imaginable  affairs  in 
the  guise  of  road  had  to  be  got  through  or  over  on  the  way 
to  the  inn.  The  effect  of  this  on  the  springs,  paint,  &c., 
of  a  good  Long  Acre-built  barouche,  when  by  some  unhappy 
necessity  it  had  to  be  committed  to  such  a  method  of  transit, 
may  be  easily  imagined.  The  passage  for  a  carriage  was, 
at  the  best,  not  well  arranged.  A  muster  of  fishermen  or 
boatmen  was  made,  and  the  carriage  was  turned  on  the  pier 
and  dragged  more  or  less  rapidly  on  board,  and  there,  I 
presume,  secured  from  movement,  but,  certainly,  by  no 
means  from  danger,  for  part  of  the  freight  might  consist  of 
half  a  dozen  or  a  dozen  bullocks,  which  shifted  to  one  side  or 


46  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  vi. 

the  other  as  the  vessel  lurched.  On  the  whole  the  transit  by 
the  Old  Passage  Ferry,  so  well  known  in  former  days,  was 
one  link  in  a  chain  of  necessities  which  left  much  room  for 
changing  times  to  improve. 

The  great  change  in  the  method  of  travelling  may  be  said 
to  have  been  publicly  inaugurated  in  the  spring  of  1830  ^ 
by  the  opening  of  the  Canterbury  and  Whitstable  line  of 
railway. 

In  the  same  year  the  Bill  for  the  Warrington  railway  was 
passed  by  both  Houses  of  Parliament,  and  permission  was 
also  granted  to  construct  a  line  from  Leicester  to  Swan- 
nington,  Robert  Stephenson  being  appointed  chief  engineer 
to  both  lines.  But  the  great  railway  event  of  that  year  was 
the  opening,  with  an  imposing  ceremonial,  on  September 
15th,  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway.  This  left 
nothing  to  be  desired  in  showing  high  appreciation  of 
the  importance  of  advance  in  methods  of  locomotion. 
Although  a  complete  success,  from  the  point  of  view  of 
capabilities  of  safe  and  also  of  rapid  travelling,  the  day  was 
one  of  great  trouble  and  anxiety.  As  the  train  neared 
Manchester  the  mob  crowded  on  the  lines,  and  while  to 
have  gone  forward  at  any  moderate  pace  would  have  been 
death  to  hundreds,  on  the  other  hand,  the  slow  movement 
allowed  the  populace  to  swarm  on  the  carriages  and  dis- 
play their  political  aversion  to  ^'  the  Duke  "  (Wellington) 
by  throwing  brickbats,  and  by  other  objectional  irregu- 
larities. The  riot  was  not  so  much  remembered  as  the 
accident  which  resulted  in  the  death  of  Huskisson.  I  can 
recollect  the  unsophisticated  story  of  something  being  seen 
going  along  the  line  at  such  a  speed  that  it  was  hardly  dis- 
cernible ;  and  also  that  a  horn  was  used  for  train  signalling 
in  place  of  the  steam  whistle.  Carelessness  of  life  through 
ignorance  of  the  danger  was  everywhere  conspicuous  ;  dis- 
cipline was  much  needed.  My  father  while  waiting  at  a 
station  took  pleasure  in  walking  along  the  line  to  while 
away  the  time.  Tying  horse-carriages  on  open  trucks  was 
not  an  unusual  practice  with  carriage-people  who  could 
afford  to  pay  for  the  luxury.  My  father  long  travelled  in 
his  own  carriage  thus  attached,  and  stepped  from  the  truck 
on  which  it  stood  to  the  next,  but  of  course  at  considerable 
danger  to  his  person. 

*  For  some  years  previously  the  possibility  of  transmission,  at  a  low 
rate  of  speed,  of  goods  or  mineral  products  had  been  established 
by  George  and  Robert  Stephenson,  against  great  opposition  in  some 
cases. 


>»   cc 


CHAPTER   VII 

CHARTIST  RISING  IN   MONMOUTHSHIRE   IN    1839 

The  remembrance  of  the  Chartist  ^  rising  in  Monmouth- 
shire of  November,  1839,  must  have  long  faded  away,  except 
from  the  minds  of  the  few  survivors  who  were  concerned 
in  its  suppression,  and  those  of  the  younger  generation 
who  remember  it  from  the  anxiety  it  caused  throughout  the 
district.  I  came  among  the  latter  number.  My  father  was 
an  acting  magistrate,  and  at  the  time  alterations  were  going 
on  in  his  house  at  Sedbury  Park.  I  can  well  remember  the 
surly,  disobedient,  and  generally  insubordinate  behaviour  of 
the  local  workmen  in  the  week  preceding  Sunday,  the 
3rd  of  November.  With  the  return  of  the  workmen,  in  the 
course  of  the  following  week,  the  face  of  affairs  had  however 
changed.  The  rising  had  taken  place,  and  had  been 
thoroughly  crushed.  Receiving  a  reverse,  they  were  there  and 
then  seized  with  panic,  and  fled.  Their  chief  leaders — by 
name  John  Frost,  Zephaniah  Williams,  and  William  Jones, 
and  others  not  so  deeply  implicated — were  captured,  and  to 
us  the  result  was  exceedingly  satisfactory.  The  men  when 
they  returned  were  patterns  of  obedience  and  as  meek  as 
mice.     They   did   not   in   the   least   desire   the   distinction 

'  Chartism  was  an  excited,  and,  in  some  instances,  violent  political 
movement  which  occurred  in  Great  Britain  consequent  upon  the 
dire  distress  and  poverty  of  the  labouring  classes  in  the  thirties 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  their  disappointment  with  the  results  of 
the  Reform  Bill  of  1832.  In  June,  1839,  a  monster  petition  was  pre- 
sented to  the  House  of  Commons  with  1,280,000  names  attached.  Its 
unsympathetic  reception  fanned  the  rebellious  spirit  abroad  among  the 
working  classes  and  led  to  an  increase  of  unruly  disturbances,  and  to 
the  outbreak  at  Newport,  here  described.  The  movement  collapsed  in 
1848,  and  with  the  development  of  the  industrial  prosperity  of  the 
country,  largely  due  to  the  use  of  steam  power  in  manufacturing 
centres,  and  the  vast  improvement  of  the  economic  and  social 
condition  of  the  people,  together  with  greater  political  freedom,  any 
return  of  the  perfectly  natural,  if  not  even  justifiable,  spirit  of  dis- 
content became  impossible.  (Ed.). 

47 


48  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  vil. 

of  being  known,  in  a  magistrate's  house,  to  have  taken  part 
in  an  outbreak  which  had  totally  failed.  They  had  thought 
that  by  Monday  or  Tuesday  the  house  would  be  in  their 
hands  and  our  relative  positions  reversed,  and,  indeed, 
it  would  have  been  hard  to  find  a  house  more  indefensible 
against  a  disciplined  mob  than  ours.  Along  two  sides 
of  the  house  (plate  i.),  ran  a  broad  colonnade  of  Bath  stone, 
supported  by  pillars  so  wide  and  so  placed  that  in  many 
cases  men  ascending  by  ladders  put  against  them,  would 
have  been  greatly  or  entirely  protected  from  the  discharge 
of  fire-arms  from  the  windows  ;  and  the  broad  flat  sur- 
face of  the  top  of  the  colonnade,  lo  feet  in  width,  by 
about  120  feet  in  length,  would  have  made  an  admirable 
mustering  ground  for  scores  of  men,  from  which  to  carry 
on  their  unpleasant  attacks  in  conjunction  with  their  allies 
below.     This  however  we  were  spared. 

The  trial  of  Frost  and  the  other  leaders  followed  speedily 
by  special  Commission  at  Monmouth.  It  began  in  the 
following  December  and  ended  in  January  (1840),  with 
a  verdict  of  guilty  of  High  Treason ;  and  sentence  of 
death  according  to  the  treason  penalties  of  the  time  was 
pronounced  by  Lord  Chief  Justice  Tindal  as  follows  : — 
"  That  you,  John  Frost,  and  you,  Zephaniah  Williams,  and 
you,  William  Jones,  be  taken  hence  to  the  place  from  which 
you  came,  and  be  thence  drawn  on  a  hurdle  to  the 
place  of  execution,  and  that  each  of  you  be  there  hanged  by 
the  neck  until  you  be  dead,  and  that  afterwards  the  head 
of  each  of  you  shall  be  severed  from  his  body,  and  the 
body  of  each,  divided  into  four  quarters,  shall  be  disposed  of 
as  Her  Majesty  shall  think  fit,  and  may  Almighty  God 
have  mercy  on  your  souls."  A  recommendation  to  mercy, 
which  was  mercifully  attended  to,  was  added  on  behalf  of 
the  five  least  guilty  men.  The  possibility  of  the  horrors 
of  the  details  of  the  treason  penalties  (though  much 
mitigated  from  those  of  former  days  on  account  of  their 
being  carried  out  on  the  dead  body  of  the  offender) 
created  consternation  through  the  district,  and  the  remem- 
brance has  remained  with  me  to  this  day.  However, 
the  capital  sentence  on  Frost  and  his  two  special  associates 
was  commuted  to  transportation  for  life,  an  act  of  grace 
coincident  with  those  extended  on  the  marriage  of  our  late 
Queen  of  glorious  memory. 

Only  the  above  disjointed  reminiscences  of  trouble  have 
remained  in  my  mind  through  the  sixty  years  which  have 
since  elapsed,  but  the  rising  was  so  planned  that,  if  it  had 


Chap,  vil]  CHARTIST   RISING  49 

succeeded,  it  would  have  proved  a  match  to  Hght  the 
smouldering  Chartism  of  the  Midlands  and  the  North  of 
England,  and  even  under  the  circumstances  the  case  was 
described  in  the  Attorney-General's  address  to  the  Jury 
at  the  commencement  of  the  Monmouth  trial  as  follows  : 

^'  There  has  recently  been  in  this  County  an  armed 
insurrection,  the  law  has  been  set  at  defiance  ;  there  has 
been  an  attempt  to  take  forcible  possession  of  the  town 
of  Newport,  there  has  been  a  conflict  between  the  insur- 
gents and  the  Queen's  troops ;  there  has  been  bloodshed, 
and  the  loss  of  many  lives.  The  intelligence  of  these 
outrages  has  caused  alarm  and  dismay  throughout  the 
kingdom."  ^ 

When  divested  of  the  repetitions  and  technicalities  of 
the  reports  of  the  sworn  witnesses,  and  also  of  the  addresses 
of  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  and  legal  authorities,  the  story 
of  the  rising  possesses  much  interest  as  an  account  in  many 
of  its  details  of  what  could  not  happen  in  the  present  day. 
The  mountainous  nature  of  the  insurgent  locality,  the 
extraordinarily  stormy  weather  which  threw  the  un- 
disciplined thousands  out  in  their  calculations,  and  the 
short,  but  (for  the  time  occupied)  bloody  climax  would 
have  formed  under  such  a  pen  as  Sir  Walter  Scott's,  a 
narrative  of  interest  almost  equal  to  some  of  those  of  the 
Covenanting  troubles. 

The  part  of  the  County  in  which  the  disturbances  took 
place — was  what  is  called  the  ^^  hill  district "  of  Monmouth- 
shire (plate  XV.),  which  has  been  described  as  an  area  of 
triangular  form,  having  for  its  apex  to  the  south,  Risca,  a 
town  five  miles  W.N.W  of  Newport.  The  base  of  the  triangle 
was  at  a  distance  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty  miles  in  a 
northerly  direction,  with  the  great  Beaufort  and  Nant-y-glo 
iron  works  to  the  west,  on  the  edge  of  Brecknockshire,  and 
to  the  east  Blaenavon  on  the  Usk  in  its  hilly,  or  it  might  be 
said  mountainous,  neighbourhood.  The  area  of  this  hill 
district  is  varied  with  hill  and  dale,  intersected  in  parts 
by  deep  glens,  and  also  by  mountain  streams,  of  no 
inconsiderable  force  after  heavy  rains.  Picturesquely 
considered  the  country  is  of  great  beauty,  but  beneath 
the  surface  are  rich  supplies  of  coal  and  iron.  For  some 
years   before    1839,   the    mines   had    been   much   worked, 

'  The  Trial  of  John  Frost  for  High  Treason  under  a  Special  Com- 
mission held  at  Monmouth,  in  December  1839,  ^"^  January,  1840,  (p.  58). 
London,  Saunders  and  Benning,  Law  Booksellers,  43,  Fleet  Street, 
1840.     (E.A.O.)  ^ 

5 


50  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  vii. 

and  the  country,  instead  of  being  merely  inhabited  by  a 
small  and  scattered  population,  was  at  the  time  of  the 
outbreak  estimated  to  contain  above  40,000  inhabitants, 
often,  as  it  was  stated,  displaying  ^'an  extent  of  ignorance 
very  much  to  be  deplored  "  and  consequently  easily  led 
away  by  the  agents  of  seditious  societies  and  formed  into 
affiliated  bodies  ready  for  outbreak  when  called  on. 

The  matured  plan  of  the  rising  was  arranged  on  the 
ist  of  November  at  a  meeting  at  a  place  called  Blackwood, 
where  there  was  a  Lodge  or  Society  of  Chartists.  At 
this  meeting  deputies  attended,  and  orders  were  formulated, 
that  the  men  should  assemble  armed  on  the  evening  of 
the  3rd,  the  following  Sunday.  There  were  to  be  three 
principal  divisions,  one  under  the  command  of  Frost  (then 
living  at  Blackwood),  the  other  two  to  be  respectively 
formed  of  men  from  the  up-country,  and  men  more 
from  the  east  and  north.  These  divisions  were  to  meet 
at  Risca  at  a  convenient  distance  from  Newport,  their 
destination,  which  they  purposed  to  reach  about  two  in 
the  morning.  They  hoped  to  find  the  inhabitants  asleep, 
and  to  carry  out  their  plans  at  their  own  convenience  ; 
attack  the  ''intended-to-be-surprised"  troops  at  Newport, 
break  down  the  bridge  over  the  Usk,  and  stop  the  mail. 
The  Newport  mails  in  those  days  were  forwarded  over 
the  Old  Passage  of  the  Severn  to  Bristol,  from  which 
place  at  a  given  time  they  were  sent  North.  The  non- 
arrival  of  the  mails  at  Birmingham  was  to  have  been  a  sign 
of  success  of  the  Monmouthshire  outbreak,  and  of  a  general 
rising  in  Lancashire,  and  other  parts  of  the  kingdom. 
Affairs,  however,  turned  out  very  differently  to  what  they 
expected.  The  night  between  the  Sunday  and  Monday 
was  the  darkest  and  most  tempestuous  that  had  been 
known  for  years,  and  consequently  though  Frost  arrived 
near  Risca  early  in  the  night,  the  other  divisions  were  long 
behind  time.  Meanwhile  Mr.  Phillips,  the  Mayor  of  New- 
port, afterwards  Sir  Thomas  Phillips,  a  firm  and  intelligent 
man,  well  informed  of  what  was  going  on,  had  been  quietly 
making  preparations,  in  view  of  the  intelligence  received 
during  Sunday.  He  had  given  orders  to  the  Superintendent 
of  Police  to  have  a  number  of  Special  Constables  ready  on 
that  evening.  A  detachment  was  stationed  at  the  Westgate 
Hotel,  where  the  Mayor  and  another  magistrate  also 
located  themselves  about  9  p.m.,  and  remained  watching 
throughout  the  night.  When  day  dawned  on  Monday, 
November  4th,  intelligence  was  received  that  the  insurgents 


PLATE      XV. 


'X\      (         f^^ 


kd 


-i.  ..-^ 


.k>^ 


F</  jy/  ool 


?aiiteS 


so  J)il>  <-^y 


^*^/ 


'■r    / 


11 'Mil IV  V  .A     f     3     xi  .,.r><^ ^J»ve*v'       nijy/ht,-^t^ 

Map  showing  the  District  of  the  Chartist  Eising  in  Monmouth. 
Newport  near  the  low  right-hand  corner  above  the  bend 
OF  the  Kiver  Usk. 


To  face  i).  50. 


Chap,  vii.]  CHARTIST   RISING  51 

were  approaching,  and  the  Mayor  sent  a  request  to  the 
barracks  for  military  assistance.  There  was  only  one 
company  of  soldiers  (of  Her  Majesty's  45th  Regiment  of 
foot)  stationed  at  Newport  at  the  time.  Of  these  thirty  men, 
under  command  of  Lieut.  Basil  Gray,  were  sent  to  the 
assistance  of  the  Mayor.  They  arrived  at  the  Westgate 
Hotel  about  8  a.m.  The  soldiers  were  placed  in  a  room  on 
the  ground  floor  of  the  hotel  with  three  windows  (a  bow 
window  with  three  divisions)  coming  down  within  a  few 
inches  of  the  ground,  and  it  should  be  observed  that  they 
did  not  load  their  muskets  until,  after  being  fired  upon,  they 
were  ordered  to  do  so.  Shortly  after  the  rioters  were  seen 
advancing,  the  numbers  being  technically  stated  in  the 
indictment  for  High  Treason  as  "a  great  multitude  .  .  .  . 
to  the  number  of  two  thousand  and  more,"  probably  more 
accurately  computed  at  5,000,  armed  with  guns,  pistols, 
pikes,  swords,  daggers,  clubs,  bludgeons,  and  other  weapons. 
Amongst  the  miscellaneous  '^  weapons  of  offence "  were 
scythes  fixed  on  poles,  and  an  instrument  (of  which  a 
specimen  was  produced  in  court)  called  a  ^'  mandrel,"  used 
for  working  out  coal  in  the  mines,  and  somewhat  resembling 
a  pick-axe  in  shape.  A  portion  of  the  rioters  formed  in 
front  of  the  hotel,  and  at  once  began  the  attack  by  firing 
a  volley  of  small  arms  at  the  windows  of  the  room  where  the 
soldiers  were  placed,  of  which  the  lower  shutters  were 
closed.  They  gained  entrance  to  a  passage,  or  corridor, 
communicating  with  it  by  a  door.  The  word  was  imme- 
diately given  to  load  with  ball  cartridge,  but  whilst  the 
lower  window  shutters  remained  closed,  the  men  could 
not  reply.  Therefore,  with  the  certainty  that  they  would  be 
fired  on,  the  Mayor  and  Lieutenant  Gray  threw  back  the 
shutters,  and  stood  unmasked  facing  the  insurgents,  who 
immediately  discharged  a  volley  of  small  arms,  whereby  the 
Mayor  was  wounded  in  the  groin,  and  seriously  in  one  arm 
near  the  shoulder,  and  Sergeant  Daily  was  badly  hit  in  the 
head.  The  order  to  fire  was  at  once  given,  and  several  of  the 
insurgents  were  wounded,  and  fell.  For  the  short  time  that 
the  conflict  lasted  the  rioters  in  the  house  continued  to  try 
to  force  the  position  by  rushing  up  to  the  doorway ;  but 
when  they  encountered  their  own  dead  and  received  the 
return  fire  of  the  soldiers  they  faltered,  and  in  less  than 
ten  minutes  the  affray  was  over.  The  passage  was  cleared 
of  all  excepting  the  dead  and  wounded,  and  the  vast 
mob  of  rioters  was  dispersing  with  all  speed.  In  the  words 
of  one  witness,   they  "ran  to  all  quarters."     Another  de- 


52  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  vii. 

posed  that  he  met  numbers  of  them  near  Newport  ^'running 
back  in  all  directions,"  and  though  here  and  there  some 
men  remained,  they  were  without  arms,  and  from  the 
quantity  of  weapons  of  offence  collected  afterwards,  it 
was  demonstrable  that  in  many  cases  the  men  must  have 
flung  them  away  as  they  fled.  But  though  short,  the 
affair  had  been  bloody.  The  rioters  lost  seven  men  killed 
besides  a  number  of  wounded,  and  the  casualties  to  their 
opponents  were  in  some  cases  serious,  although  not  fatal. 
Hundreds  hurried  from  the  scene  of  their  repulse  with 
such  speed  that  by  ten  o'clock  a.m.  they  were  passing  the 
Lodge  Gate  of  Tredegar  Park,  about  two  miles  from 
Newport.  Amongst  this  crowd  was  John  Frost,  ex-draper 
of  Newport  and  would-be  conductor  of  the  outbreak,  a  man 
who  had  proved  himself  as  deficient  in  courage  as  he  had 
been  inefficient  in  leadership.  He  was  endeavouring  to 
conceal  his  identity  by  holding  a  handkerchief  to  his  face 
as  if  he  were  crying.  But  on  being  spoken  to  and  re- 
cognised, he  left  the  road  and  going  through  an  archway 
leading  to  a  coppice  wood,  was  lost  sight  of.  A  warrant 
was  granted  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  and  in 
the  evening,  on  the  door  being  forced  open  of  the  house  of 
a  man  named  Partridge  (about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the 
Westgate  Hotel  in  Newport),  Frost  was  found  and  was 
immediately  taken  into  custody.  On  being  searched,  three 
pistols  all  loaded,  a  powder  flask,  and  some  balls  were 
found  in  his  pocket. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

BEGINNING  THE  STUDY  OF  ENTOMOLOGY,  COLLECTIONS  OF 
ECONOMIC  ENTOMOLOGICAL  SPECIMENS,  AND  FAMILY 
DISPERSAL. 

So  far  as  a  date  can  be  given  to  what  has  been  the  absorbing 
interest  of  the  work  of  my  Hfe,  the  12th  of  March,  1852, 
would  be  about  the  beginning  of  my  real  study  of  Ento- 
mology. I  fancy  I  attended  to  it  more  than  I  knew  myself, 
for  little  things  come  back  to  memory  connected  with 
specimens  being  brought  to  me  to  name  or  look  at,  one  in 
particular  regarding  a  rare  locust.  The  date  was  some  time 
before  coaches  were  discontinued,  and  the  usual  gathering 
of  people  in  those  days  had  collected  at  the  door  of  the 
George  Hotel  in  Chepstow  to  see  the  coach  change  horses, 
when,  to  the  astonishment  of  all,  a  fine  rose-underwinged 
locust  appeared  amongst  them.  Chepstow  is  on  a  steep  hill, 
and  the  "George"  about  half  a  mile  from  the  bridge  (pi.  xvii.). 
Down  the  hill  set  off  the  locust,  pursued  by  a  party  from 
the  George,  until  it  was  captured  at  the  bridge,  and  our 
family  doctor  conveyed  it  alive  and  uninjured  to  me.  On 
my  father  sending  it  up  to  Oxford  to  Professor  Daubeney 
as  a  probable  curiosity,  he  identified  it  as  being  the  first 
of  the  kind  which  had  been  taken  so  far  west.  If  he 
gave  us  the  name,  I  have  forgotten  it.  In  March  I  began 
my  studies  by  buying  my  first  entomological  book,  and 
I  chose  beetles  for  the  subject,  and  Stephens's  "  Manual 
of  British  Beetles  "  ^  for  my  teacher.  Those  who  know  the 
book  will  understand  my  difficulties.  It  has  no  illustrations, 
glossary,  nor  convenient  abstracts  to  help  beginners,  and,  if 
such  things  existed  in  those  days,  they  were  not  accessible 
to  me.  But  I  made  up  my  mind  that  I  was  going  to  learn, 
and  as  palpiy  maxillce,  and  names  of  all  the  smaller  parts  of 

^  Manual  of  British  Coleoptera,  or  Beetles,  published  by  Longmans, 
Green  &  Co.,  1839.  In  Miss  Ormerod's  copy  is  a  pencil  note : 
"J.F.S.,  died  1853." 

53 


54  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  viii. 

the  insects  were  wholly  unknown  to  me,  I  struck  out  a  plan 
of  my  own.  From  time  to  time  I  got  one  of  the  very  largest 
beetles  that  I  could  find,  something  that  I  was  quite  sure  of, 
and  turned  it  into  my  teacher.  I  carefully  dissected  it  and 
matched  the  parts  to  the  details  of  the  description  given  by 
Stephens.  The  process  was  very  tedious  and  required  great 
care,  but  I  got  a  sound  foundation,  and  by  making  a  kind 
of  synopsis  of  the  chief  points  of  classification  I  got  a  start. 
To  this  day  (1891)  I  have  my  old  Stephens's  Manual  with 
my  own  pencil  markings,  that  started  me  on  my  unaided 
course.  Identification  was  very  difficult  for  a  long  time, 
but  I  ^Mooked  out"  my  beetles  laboriously  till  I  thought  I 
was  sure  of  the  name,  and  then,  to  make  quite  certain,  I 
took  the  subject  the  other  way  forward — worked  back 
systematically  from  the  species  till  I  found  that  there  was 
no  other  kind  that  it  could  be.  Killing  my  specimens  was 
another  difficulty.  I  had  been  told  that  if  beetles  were 
dropped  into  hot  water  death  was  instantaneous.  I  was 
not  aware  that  it  should  be  boiling.  So  into  the  kitchen 
I  went  with  a  water-beetle,  which  in  after  years  I  found 
must  have  been  Dytiscus  marginalis — a  large  water-beetle 
which  has  great  powers  of  rapid  swimming — got  a  tumbler 
of  hot  water,  and  dropped  my  specimen  in.  But  to  my 
perfect  horror,  instead  of  being  killed  instantaneously,  it 
skimmed  round  and  round  on  the  water  for  perhaps 
a  minute  as  if  in  the  greatest  agony.  This  was  my 
second  lesson ;  thenceforward  I  supplied  myself  with 
chloroform. 

My  first  experience  in  the  use  of  the  microscope  was 
gained  by  helping  my  brother  William  to  prepare  botanical 
specimens  for  examination  under  his  microscope.  I  thus 
had  useful  practice  early  in  life,  1849  (0^  ^^  ^^^  management 
of  a  good  instrument.  I  bought  my  own  about  1864,  after 
my  brother  John's  death — one  of  Pillischer's — a  good 
working  instrument  with  excellent  i-inch  and  ^-inch  lenses 
on  a  nose-piece.  I  first  studied  with  it  the  hairs  of  different 
animals.  I  also  worked  preparations  of  teeth,  showing  the 
fluid  contents  when  in  a  fresh  state. 

In  the  number  of  the  ^'Gardeners'  Chronicle  and  Agricul- 
tural Gazette"  for  August  i,  1868,  the  announcement  was 
made  that  "  Throughout  the  month  of  August  there  will  be 
open  in  the  Palace  of  Industry,  in  the  Champs  Elysees, 
Paris,  an  Exhibition  which  we  conceive  cannot  fail  to  be 
of  great  service  in  extending  a  knowledge  of  the  destructive 


Chap,  viil]        STUDY   OF   ENTOMOLOGY  55 

or  beneficial  habits  of  various  species  of  insects.  .  .  .  The 
Exhibition  is  organised  by  the  ^Societe  d'Insectologie 
Agricole '  under  the  Presidency  of  Dr.  Boisduval,  one  of 
the  Vice-Presidents  of  the  Horticultural  Society  of  Paris, 
and  under  the  auspices  of  the  Minister  of  Agriculture, 
Commerce,  and  Public  Works.  The  object  of  this  Society 
(and  consequently  of  the  Exhibition  itself)  is  twofold  : 
firstly,  to  investigate  the  economy  and  to  extend  the  benefits 
resulting  from  insects  serviceable  to  mankind  ;  and  secondly, 
to  study  the  habits  of  those  species  which  affect  our  gardens, 
orchards,  farms  or  forests,  in  order  to  arrest  their  ravages  or 
destroy  them  individually." 

Details  were  given  at  some  length  of  the  classes  of  subjects 
to  be  represented,  in  the  hope  that  it  might  attract  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Council  of  our  own  Horticultural  Society  to  the 
desirability  of  arranging  some  similar  exhibition,  and,  on 
the  22nd  of  August  following,  the  public  were  informed 
(again  in  the  ^'Gardeners'  Chronicle,"  p.  893)  that  ''the 
desideratum  lately  pointed  out  as  falling  within  the  province 
of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  to  supply,  viz.,  a  Collec- 
tion of  Insects  (and  their  products),  is  now  in  a  fair  way  to 
be  made  good."  A  short  sketch  was  given  of  the  plan  on 
which  it  was  proposed  to  deal  with  the  subject,  in  which 
the  "  insect  friends  "  of  the  horticulturist  were  the  division 
to  be  placed  first.  Following  these  were  to  be  "  gardeners' 
enemies,"  and  the  plants  on  w^hich  they  feed  ;  next  to  these 
again,  "  insects  beneficial  or  injurious  to  man."  Negotia- 
tions on  the  part  of  the  Council  of  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society  with  the  Science  and  Art  Department  resulted  in 
the  agreement  that,  if  the  Society  would  form  the  Collec- 
tion, the  Department  would  house,  care  for,  and  display  it. 
The  eminently  qualified  Fellows  of  the  Society,  Mr.  Wilson 
Saunders,  Mr.  Andrew  Murray  (pp.  75  and  87),  and  Mr.  M.  ]. 
Berkeley,  agreed  to  lend  their  best  assistance  in  the  matter, 
and  Mr.  Murray,  at  the  request  of  the  Council,  undertook 
the  most  laborious  part  of  the  task — that  of  receiving, 
arranging,  and  putting  in  order  the  various  specimens  that 
might  be  sent  from  time  to  time.  All  collectors  and 
observers  who  might  be  willing  to  help  were  requested  to 
communicate  with  Mr.  Murray,  and  without  delay  I  availed 
myself  of  the  opportunity,  in  pleasant  anticipation  of  the 
entomological  co-operation  giving  a  use  to  what  had  been 
previously  somewhat  desultory  observation. 

I  was  singularly  well  situated  for  the  collection  of  ordinary 
kinds  of  injurious  insects,  and  for  the  observation  of  their 


56  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  viii. 

workings,  as  I  then  resided  on  my  father's  Gloucestershire  pro- 
perty. The  extent  was  not  very  great,  only  about  800  acres, 
but  the  nature  of  both  the  land  and  the  cultivation  afforded 
wonderful  variety  of  material  for  commencing  a  collection. 
The  wood-  and  park-land  included  old  timber  trees  in  some 
instances  dating  back  to  the  time  of  the  Edwards,  and  also 
plenty  of  ordinary  deciduous  woodland  and  coppice.  The 
fir  plantations  supplied  conifer-loving  forest  pests ;  the 
ordinary  insects  of  crop  and  garden  were  of  course  plen- 
tiful ;  the  woodland  and  field  pools  added  their  quota  ;  and 
the  diversity  in  exposure  from  the  salt  pasturage  by  the 
Severn  to  the  various  growths  up  the  face  of  the  cHffs  to 
about  140  feet  probably  had  something  to  do  also  with 
the  great  variety  of  insect  life.  I  had  willing  helpers 
in  the  agricultural  labourers — when  they  had  made  up 
their  minds  whether  they  would  assist  or  not.  They  had 
always  helped,  for  we  were  on  very  friendly  terms,  and 
some  of  them  or  their  children,  like  myself,  had  been 
born  on  the  estate.  But,  though  I  did  not  know  it  at  the 
time,  I  heard  afterwards  that  when  I  asked  for  such  special 
help  they  held  a  sort  of  informal  meeting  to  consult  whether 
it  should  be  granted.  Happily  they  settled  that  I  was  to  be 
helped  because  the  rural  counsel  stated  I  made  use  of  what 
I  got.  The  verdict  was  satisfactory  in  practical  results,  but 
I  had  my  own  private  opinion  that  what  were  sometimes 
called  ^^Miss  Eleanor's  shillings"  helped  the  cause  of 
collection.  From  the  commencement  of  work  until  my 
father's  death,  when  I  ceased  to  have  command  of  the 
large  area  of  ground,  I  collected  and  sent  the  results  to 
the  charge  of  Mr.  Murray.  Communication  was  entirely 
carried  on  by  letter. 

[N.B. — Miss  Ormerod's  work  was  gracefully  acknowledged 
by  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  awarding  her  the  Floral 
Medal  (plate  xxii.).] 

Family  Dispersal, 

My  father's  last  days  were  happy  and  painless,  and  were 
passed  in  comfort  under  the  attendance  of  my  sisters  and 
myself,  whom,  in  the  failing  condition  of  his  powers  of 
exertion  he  preferred  to  all  other  society.  We  deeply 
felt  the  happiness  of  ministering  to  his  welfare,  for  he 
would  not  hear  of  our  leaving  him  for  even  twenty-four 
hours,  and  he  objected  to  visits  from  my  brothers  excepting 
occasionally  for  a  short  time.  They,  not  being  used  to  the 
gentle  ways   necessary  for  an   aged  invalid,  worried   him. 


Chap,  viil]  FAMILY   DISPERSAL  57 

His  last  illness,  however,  was  short.  On  the  Monday  pre- 
ceding his  decease  he  was  able  to  come  downstairs  to  his 
nine  o'clock  breakfast  as  usual,  and  the  Thursday  following 
— the  9th  of  October,  1873 — he  passed  gently  away,  at  the 
mature  age  of  eighty-seven  years. 

He  was  succeeded  in  the  property  by  his  eldest  son,  the 
Venerable  Thos.  Johnson  Ormerod,  Archdeacon  of  Suffolk, 
and  Rector  of  Redenhall-cum-Harleston,  Norfolk,  who  had 
held  the  post  of  Examining  Chaplain  to  two  bishops  of 
Norwich,  Dr.  Stanley  and  Dr.  Hinds,  and  had  been 
requested  to  hold  it  once  again  by  their  successor,  Dr. 
Pelham.  This  however,  he  declined,  not  feeling  disposed 
in  his  own  advancing  age  to  continue  in  the  laborious 
though  honourable  office.  On  my  father's  death,  my 
brother  resigned  his  living,^  and  moved  with  his  two 
unmarried  daughters  to  Sedbury.  From  his  standing  as  a 
clergyman  of  high  position,  who  had  long  mixed  in  literary 
society,  and  also  as  a  country  gentleman,  it  had  been  hoped 
that  he  would  make  Sedbury  a  literary  and  county  centre,  as 
it  had  been  in  my  father's  time.  But  his  life  was  unex- 
pectedly closed  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  by  a  sudden  illness. 
He  died  on  2nd  December,  1874,  and  the  property  passed 
to  his  eldest  son,  the  Rev.  G.  T.  B.  Ormerod,  then,  or 
shortly  before,  curate  of  Stroud. 

[A  short  account  of  Miss  Ormerod's  brothers  other  than 
the  eldest  above  referred  to — all  men  of  ability  and  diligent 
workers — will  complete  this  chapter  of  family  history. 

"Two  entered  the  Church  ;  the  third  brother,  John,  was 
the  holder  of  the  Port  Fellowship  of  Brasenose  and  bursar 
of  that  college  ;  and  the  youngest,  Arthur,  spent  his  life  in 
parish  work  as  Vicar  of  Halvergate,  in  Norfolk. 

"The  fifth  brother,  William,  and  the  sixth,  Edward,  became 
students  at  St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital,  to  which  institution 
their  uncle,  Dr.  Peter  Mere  Latham  and  his  father.  Dr.  John 
Latham,  had  been  physicians.  William's  health  failing,  he 
left  London,  and  after  a  few  years'  practice  at  Oxford,  where 
he  was  surgeon  to  the  Radcliffe  Infirmary,  he  retired  to 
Canterbury,  and  there  died  at  a  comparatively  early  age. 
Edward  distinguished  himself  as  a  physician  and  as  a 
naturalist.  He  too  was  debarred  by  bad  health  from  prac- 
tising in  London,  but  in  Brighton  he  became  physician  to 
the  Sussex  County  Hospital,  and  was  for  many  years  the 
leading  consultant  of  the  town.  He  wrote  several  excel- 
*  He  had  resigned  the  Archdeaconry  in  1868. 


58  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  viii. 

lent  papers  on  medical  subjects,  and  his  monograph  on 
'*  British  Social  Wasps  "  brought  him  the  fellowship  of  the 
Royal  Society. 

*^  The  second  brother,  Wareing,  and  the  fourth,  Henry, 
started  as  solicitors  in  Manchester.  Wareing  left  Man- 
chester for  Devonshire,  living  first  at  Chagford,  on  the 
borders  of  Dartmoor,  and  afterwards  at  Teignmouth. 
Geology  was  his  favourite  study.  He  compiled  the  Index 
for  the  publications  of  the  Geological  Society,  of  which  he 
was  a  fellow,  and  he  made  many  contributions  to  its 
journal. 

^'  Henry  Mere  Ormerod  continued  to  practise  as  a  solicitor 
in  Manchester  till  his  death  in  1898.  He  also  managed  his 
father's  Lancashire  estates,  and  to  him  the  other  members 
of  his  family  turned  for  legal  and  for  practical  advice.  He 
was  a  churchwarden  of  the  Collegiate  Church,  now  the 
Cathedral,  trustee  of  various  important  charities,  active  in 
all  good  movements,  proud  to  be  of  Lancashire  origin  and 
a  Manchester  man.  He  possessed  extensive  knowledge  and 
most  varied  interests.  His  collections  of  books,  china,  and 
prints  were  remarkable  ;  and  in  such  subjects  as  archaeology, 
genealogy,  architecture,  geology,  and  certain  branches  of 
natural  history  he  was  an  expert.  It  was  he  who  presented 
to  the  Bodleian  Library,  Oxford,  in  accordance  with  the 
wishes  of  his  father,  the  author's  copy  of  the  *  History  of 
Cheshire.' "] 


Extract  from  Ormerod's  "History  of  Cheshire,"  vol.  hi.  page 
450  (1ST  edition),  relative  to  the  Original  of  Pl.  xviii.  Opposite. 

"P.  238,  Nantwich  Hospital.  The  author  has  in  his  possession  a 
singularly  curious  oak  chest  which  he  purchased  at  Erdswick  Hall.  It 
had  been  bought  by  the  tenant  at  a  sale  at  Hulgreve  Hall  (an  estate  of 
the  Astons,  who  participated  in  the  division  of  the  religious  spoil  at  the 
Reformation),  and  it  was  traditionally  said  to  have  come  from  this 
hospital.  It  appears  to  have  been  one  of  the  chests  used  to  keep 
vestments  and  chalices,  &c.,  in,  and  is  about  two  feet  broad,  by  five  in 
length,  and  two  feet  nine  inches  in  height ;  at  each  end  are  two 
compartments,  and  in  front  five,  all  of  which  except  the  central  one  are 
sumptuously  carved  in  imitation  of  rich  Gothic  windows  with  canopies, 
crockets,  finials,  buttresses,  and  shrine  work.  The  centre  represents 
the  coronation  of  Henry  VI.,  and  the  single  rose  occurs  over  the  fleur- 
de-lis  in  the  ornaments.  The  chest  is  figured  in  Plate  44  of  'Specimens 
of  Gothic  Architecture  in  England,'  by  Augustus  Pugin,  1822  ;  and 
a  description  is  given  at  page  27. 

"A  chest,  of  a  description  precisely  corresponding  with  it,  was 
recently  offered  for  sale  at  Liverpool,  with  the  Brereton  painted  glass, 
and  described  as  having  been  formerly  the  church  chest  at  Ashton- 
under-Lyne." 


CHAPTER   IX 

COMMENCEMENT  AND    PROGRESS    OF    ANNUAL    REPORTS    OF 
OBSERVATIONS   OF   INJURIOUS   INSECTS 

In  the  spring  of  1877  I  issued  a  short  pamphlet  of  seven 
pages,  entitled  ^' Notes  for  Observations  of  Injurious  Insects/'^ 
in  which  I  suggested  how  much  a  series  of  observations  in 
relation  to  insect  ravages  on  food  crops  was  to  be  desired  ; 
this  not  merely  for  scientific  purposes,  but  with  a  view'  to 
finding  means  of  lessening  the  amount  of  yearly  loss  w^hich 
tells  so  heavily  on  individual  growers,  and  also  on  the 
country  at  large.  I  pointed  out  shortly  that  many  insect 
attacks  could  be  remedied,  if  attention  were  directed  to  the 
subject ;  and  also  that  many  would  probably  be  found,  if 
reliable  information  could  be  procured,  to  be  coincident 
with  multiplication  or  diminution  of  insect  life.  On  the 
way  in  which  this  increase  and  decrease  w^ere  affected  by 
surroundings,  such  as  plants,  &c.,  suitable  for  food  or 
shelter  ;  by  agricultural  conditions,  such  as  drainage,  nature 
of  the  soil  and  of  manures  ;  and  also  by  the  state  of  the 
weather  —  I  gave  some  guiding  notes,  and  requested  in- 
formation from  agriculturists  and  entomologists,  who  were 
both  practically  and  scientifically  qualified  to  aid  in  the 
matter.  I  also  added  some  short  remarks  as  to  the  nature 
of  the  entomological  observations  desired ;  as  of  date, 
and  amount  of  appearance  of  larvae  (grubs) ;  amount  of 
injury  caused  ;  and  any  other  points  of  use  and  interest  that 
might  occur  to  the  observer.  And  further  (as  some  sort  of 
assistance  in  the  commencement  of  the  plan  of  campaign)  I 
gave  a  list  of  about  eighteen  of  our  commonest  crop,  fruit, 
and  forest  insects,  with  short  descriptions  in  the  very  plainest 
words  I  could  use,  in  most  cases  accompanied  by  illustrations. 
As  my  name  was  then  little  before  the  public,  although 
I   had  worked    on   entomology    for   a  good   many   years, 

*  Miss  Ormerod  had  been  a  contributor  to  scientific  literature  for 
some  years  before  this  date.  Writing  in  1900  she  says  : — "  My  first 
regular  paper  was  printed  in  the  Journal  of  Linn.  Soc,  vol.  xi.,  No.  56, 
Zoology,  July  18,  1873,  on  The  Cutaneous  Exudation  of  the  *  Triton 
cristatus.'     I  think  it  is  sound  and  unusual  !  " 

59 


6o  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  ix. 

I  requested  permission  of  two  of  my  scientihc  friends,  the 
Rev.  T.  A.  Preston,  one  of  the  masters  of  Marlborough 
College,  and  much  interested  in  phenology  (i.e.,  observation 
of  natural  phenomena)  ;  and  Mr.  E.  A.  Fitch,  Secretary  of 
the  Entomological  Society,  to  allow  me  to  add  their  names 
as  referees.  To  this  they  kindly  consented,  but  with  the 
stipulation  from  Mr.  Preston  that  he  did  not  wish  to 
co-operate  further.  I  believe  1  may  say  with  regard  to  Mr. 
Fitch  such  a  very  small  amount  of  communication  took 
place  that  it  would  not  have  been  worth  while  to  mention 
the  matter,  excepting  pro  forma,  on  account  of  the  names 
being  recorded.  These  were  soon  removed  from  succeed- 
ing reports  as  unnecessary.  The  pamphlet  was  widely  cir- 
culated and  the  request  for  observations  was  responded  to  far 
more  cordially  than  could  have  been  expected.  Notes 
regarding  insect  appearances,  together  with  observations 
of  their  habits,  and  of  practicable  methods  of  prevention, 
were  forwarded  by  observers — who  were  qualified  both  as 
technically  scientific  and  practical  workers — from  localities 
scattered  over  the  country  as  far  north  as  Aberdeenshire  in 
Scotland  and  south  to  Hants  and  Devonshire  in  England. 
In  fact  the  communications  were  quite  sufficient  to  show  that 
the  plan  was  approved  of  from  an  agricultural  point  of  view, 
and  might  be  continued  hopefully.  In  after  years  I  was 
told  that  it  was  very  well  received  by  the  press.  I  have  been 
greatly  indebted  since  both  to  the  agricultural  and  general 
press,  but  at  the  time  it  did  not  seem  to  me  to  be  peculiarly 
warmly  welcomed,  nor  I  think  was  it  likely  to  be,  until  it 
had  more  to  say  for  itself.  The  pamphlet  was  not  of  many 
pages  ;  the  knowledge  of  the  great  mischief  caused  by  insect 
pests,  and  the  need  of  prevention  of  their  ravages,  was 
not  spread  abroad  as  at  the  present  day,  and  I  was  not  able 
at  first  to  utilise  to  the  best  advantage  the  information  sent 
as  I  had  no  working  reports  of  my  own  to  help  me  as  to 
examples  of  the  best  methods  of  arrangement.  ^ 

^  To  such  of  my  readers  as  possess  some  portion  only  of  the  early 
series,  it  may  be  of  interest  to  point  out  that  the  observations,  up  to 
those  for  1880  inclusive,  were  arranged,  not  as  afterwards,  as  detached 
papers,  placed  alphabetically  under  the  heading  of  the  names  of  the 
crops  to  which  they  referred,  but  under  the  numbers  given  in  the 
successive  preceding  guide  lists  issued  for  the  use  of  observers — as  for 
instance,  "6,  Anthoniyia  ceparum,  Onion  fly;"  or  "25,  Abraxas  grossu- 
lariata,  Magpie  moth  "  (fig.  9). 

These  were  arranged  numerically,  from  "  i  "  onwards,  all  the  observa- 
tions on  one  kind  of  insect  attack  being  arranged  successively  in  a 
long  unbroken  paragraph  under  the  selected  number,  together  with 
the  name  of  the  pest.     For  want  of  better  knowledge  of  the  requisites 


Chap,  ix.]  ANNUAL   REPORTS  6i 

From  the  first  I  had  excellent  contributions.  Various 
members  of  our  Entomological  Societies  were  good  enough 
to  send  me  notes  on  insects  to  which  they  devoted  special 
study,  and  so  also  were  members  of  the  Meteorological 
Society,  regarding  points  of  natural  history,  bird  life, 
weather,  &c,,  connected  with  entomological  considerations, 
and  regarding  which  they  were  special  observers.  Agricul- 
turally I  had  good  help  also  from  other  quarters,  and 
amongst  many  who  assisted  me,  I  will  take  leave  to 
especially  give  the  name  of  the  late  Mr.  Malcolm  Dunn,  the 
Duke  of  Buccleuch's  superintendent  at  the  Palace  Gardens, 
Dalkeith,  N.B.  We  never  met,  but  whenever  I  applied  to 
him  he  was  unfailing  in  prompt  and  serviceable  reply.  As 
a  commencement,  the  introductions  with  which  he  favoured 
me  to  the  leading  foresters  and  horticulturists  of  North 
Britain,  were  of  such  invaluable  aid  that  I  should  be 
ungrateful  not  to  mention  his  name  as  of  one  to  whom  I 
owe  a  deep  debt  of  gratitude. 

In  the  report  for  the  year  1881  I  altered  the  plan  of 
arrangement  to  one  which  so  far  as  I  can  judge  met  all  that 
was  needed  for  practical  as  well  as  scientific  service  so  con- 
veniently that  I  have  since  adhered  to  it.  The  information 
was  classed  under  headings  of  {a)  farm  crops,  (6)  orchard 
and  bush  fruits,  and  (c)  forest  trees,  regarding  which  obser- 
vations of  insect  attack  were  forwarded.  These  headings 
were  arranged  alphabetically,  for  instance :  Apple,  Bean, 
Corn  and  Grass,  Hop,  Oak,  Peas,  Pine,  Turnip,  &c.,  &c. 
Any  information  as  to  live-stock  or  animal  insect  pests 
was  similarly  placed  (that  is,  alphabetically)  amongst  the 
other  attacks,  under  the  headings  of  Deer,  Grouse,  Horses, 
&c.,  &c.,  as  the  case  might  be ;  but  beyond  what  was  abso- 
lutely necessary,  as  in  the  case  of  Ox  warble,  I  endeavoured 
to  avoid  entering  on  stock  infestations  as  leading  to  investi- 
gations very  unpleasant  to  myself  either  to  make  or  to 
discuss,  and  very  much  better  left  in  the  hands  of  veterinary 

for  a  readable  as  well  as  useful  report,  I  condensed  the  informa- 
tion into  as  few  words  as  possible,  with  few,  if  any,  breaks  in  the 
long  paragraphs,  and  so,  until  1880,  .  the  results  (excepting  to 
technical  readers)  could  not  be  considered  "taking."  If  any  of  my 
entomological  readers  will  turn  to  a  very  useful  work,  the  Forst 
Zoologie,  of  Dr.  Bernard  Altum,  they  will  see  in  the  second 
division  of  the  "Insecten"  at  pp.  36,  37,  and  again  at  pp.  162,  163,  the 
difficulties  that  are  thrown  in  the  way  of  comfortably  grasping  the 
subject,  by  the  matter  being  printed  continuously  without  breaks. 
This,  however,  as  well  as  many  other  things,  I  had  then  still  to  learn. 
(E.A.O.)  ^ 


62  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  ix. 

surgeons.  Following  each  heading,  the  observations  were 
placed  which  had  been  contributed  during  the  season,  and 
which  appeared  to  be  of  sufficient  interest  to  be  recorded, 
regarding  the  special  crop,  or  fruit,  &c.,  referred  to,  these 
being  given  with  locality  and  date,  as  far  as  possible  in 
the  contributor's  words,  and  over  his  own  name,  unless 
by  request,  or  for  some  special  reason.  This  plan  of  giving 
the  very  fullest  recognition  possible  of  the  source  of  the 
information,  I,  for  three  very  special  reasons,  most  strongly 
recommend  to  the  consideration  of  all  my  readers  not  fully 
accustomed  to  practical  reporting  : 

T.  That  thus  the  information  may  very  often  carry 
conviction  with  it  by  the  name  of  some  well-known  agricul- 
turist or  cattle-breeder  being  appended. 

2.  That  to  do  otherwise  is  a  robbery  of  the  credit  of  the 
contributor,  and  a  false  appropriation  of  it  by  the  reporter, 
wholly  unbecoming  an  honest  worker. 

3.  That  the  full  recognition  is  a  great  protection  to  the 
reporter  or  compiler  of  the  reports  from  plagiarism  of 
his  own  work.  There  are  people  who  think  nothing  of 
appropriating  the  credit  of  true  workers,  and  who  absorb 
also  rewards  in  the  shape  of  salaries  and  official  position 
based  on  their  own  questionable  conduct. 

In  the  year  1881  it  seemed  desirable  to  change  the 
running  heading  at  the  top  of  the  pages.  The  name  of  the 
crop,  fruit,  or  other  subject  to  which  the  paper  referred  was 
henceforward  placed  at  the  top  of  the  left-hand  page,  and 
the  name  of  each  successive  attack  to  it  at  the  top  of  the 
right-hand  page ;  as,  for  instance,  Cabbage  at  the  left  side, 
and  the  different  kinds  of  infestations  recorded  during  the 
year  which  might  occur  to  Cabbage,  as  Cabbage  butterfly 
(large  white),  Cabbage-root  fly,  Cabbage  moth,  on  the 
right-hand  heading.  At  the  beginning  of  each  paper,  the 
name  of  the  crop,  or  fruit,  was  given  in  large  capitals,  and 
beneath  and  at  the  heading  of  each  successive  paper,  the 
name  of  the  injurious  insect  to  be  referred  to,  also  in 
English,  with  the  scientific  name,  and  authority  for  the 
same  following.  The  observations  of  contributors  were 
inserted  unbroken,  so  that  the  methods  of  prevention  and 
remedy  noted  as  successful  by  each  observer  were  thus 
recorded  in  connection  with  the  accompanying  peculiarities 
of  cultivation,  soil,  manure,  weather,  &c.  The  whole  life- 
history  of  the  insect,  so  far  as  known  or  accessible,  was  given, 
and  sometimes,  as  in  great  attacks  or  in  special  circum- 
stances, a  "  summary  "  of  the  preceding  recorded  informa- 


Chap,  ix.]  ANNUAL   REPORTS  63 

tion  ;  this  being,  wherever  possible,  followed  by  some  para- 
graphs or  pages  of  *'  Methods  of  Prevention  and  Remedy." 

In  matters  of  phraseology,  selection  of  the  very  plainest 
and  shortest  words  that  I  could  choose  was  part  of  my 
plan,  and  after  the  first  few  years  I  exchanged  the  short 
table  of  contents  for  a  plain  working  index. 

Illustration  always  appeared  to  me  a  very  important  part 
of  the  work,  so  that  readers  might  start  with  the  knowledge 
of  the  appearance  of  the  insects  under  consideration,  gained 
by  a  glance  at  the  accompanying  figure,  without  having 
the  trouble  of  trying  to  form  a  kind  of  ^'mind  picture" 
from  the  descriptions  given,  often  very  unlike  the  true 
object. I  At  first — in  the  small  beginning — the  numbers 
needed  were  also  small,  and  I  think  the  little  stock  of  figure 
blocks  with  which  I  started,  and  for  which  I  was  indebted 
to  the  kind  courtesy  of  a  friend,  amounted  to  one  dozen  ! 
This  matter,  however,  I  set  right  as  soon  as  possible  by  the 
purchase  from  Messrs.  Blackie  &  Sons,  of  Glasgow,  of 
electros  of  most  of  the  beautiful  wood  engravings  given  in 
Curtis's  *^  Farm  Insects,"  under  an  agreement  that  the 
accommodation  was  granted  on  condition  of  my  using  the 
figures  only  in  my  own  publications.  Some  of  the  illustra- 
tions I  drew  myself  on  the  blocks,  and  as  time  went  on,  and 
infestations,  little  or  not  at  all  entered  on  before,  required  illus- 
tration, I  engaged  the  valuable  assistance  of  two  brothers,^ 
which  was  continued  thenceforward  throughout  the  work. 
It  appears  to  me  that  it  is  hardly  possible  to  exceed  the 
beauty  of  their  work,  whether  in  characteristic  representa- 
tion or  in  precise  and  accurate  details.  I  have  had  great 
pleasure  in  the  entomological  approval  which  has  been 
bestowed  upon  it.  Illustrations  from  other  sources  have  of 
course  been  used,  always,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  most  care- 
fully acknowledged  ;  and  so  far  as  has  been  in  my  power,  I 
have  endeavoured  that  the  illustration  of  each  infestation 
should  show  the  insect  (where  it  was  possible  to  do  so) 
in  each  of  its  successive  stages  of  life,  as  of  the  caterpillar  or 
maggot  (scientifically  the  larva) ;  the  chrysalis  (ptipa)  ;  and 
the  perfect  insect,  butterfly,  beetle,  sawfly,  &c.,  as  the 
case  might  be.  This  matter  is  of  great  importance  agricul- 
turally, for  how  else  (it  may  be  asked)  in  common  circum- 
stances, excepting  by  a  good,  plain  illustration,  is  a  farmer 

*  This  consideration  induced  the  Editor  to  introduce  many  figures  of 
insects  into  the  chapters  of  correspondence  in  the  present  volume. 

="  Messrs.  Horace  Knight  and  E.  C.  Knight,  of  the  staff  of  Messrs 
West,  Newman  &  Co.,  54,  Hatton  Garden,  London. 


64  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  ix. 

or  fruit-grower  to  know  what  the  connection  is  between  the 
grubs  and  maggots  which  he  finds  underground  or  on  his 
trees  and  the  moths  or  beetles  which  he  may  notice  in  his 
fields  or  orchards.  To  give  a  single  instance,  how  seldom 
the  grey,  cylindrical,  legless  grubs  of  the  Daddy  Longlegs 
are  known  to  have  anything  to  do  with  the  large,  gnat-like, 
two-winged  flies  which  are  to  be  seen  floating  over  our 
grass-fields  in  legions  where  the  larvae  have  been  destroying 
underground.  And  so  the  work  went  on,  and  I  believe  that 
I  may  say  that — from  the  great  amount  of  useful  information 
contributed,  together  with  my  own  co-operation  in  entomo- 
logical verification,  adding  requisite  details,  publishing  the 
year's  communications,  and  distributing  them  to  my  contri- 
butors— it  answered  fairly  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  set 
on  foot.  And  year  by  year  we  gained  knowledge  till  we 
possessed  serviceable  information  on  the  main  points,  both 
of  habits  and  means  of  prevention  of  the  greater  number  of 
our  really  seriously  injurious  farm,  orchard,  and  forest  pests 
of  Britain. 

Those  who  wish  to  investigate  in  detail  the  various  kinds 
of  infestation  noticed  during  the  first  twenty-two  years  of 
my  observations  will  find  them  in  ^^  The  General  Index  to 
my  Annual  Reports  on  Injurious  Insects,  1 877-1 898,"  com- 
piled at  my  request  by  Mr.  Robert  Newstead.^  In  this  index 
the  insects  are  arranged  alphabetically  under  their  popular  and 
also  under  their  scientific  names,  with  references  to  the  various 
Annual  Reports  in  which  notices  of  their  observation  are 
recorded,  or  papers  given  on  them,  and  also  of  the  pages  in 
each  paper  containing  information  on  their  habits  and 
history  and  means  of  prevention.  Lists  are  also  given  of 
crops  and  plants,  stock,  &c.,  affected.  The  index  thus 
affords  a  fair  summary  of  the  advance  of  our  knowledge 
of  crop  infestation  during  the  years  referred  to.^ 

In  the  year  1881  I  published  a  digest  of  the  information 

^  Curator  of  the  Grosvenor  Museum,  Chester. 

=*  On  November  26,  1899,  Miss  Ormerod  wrote  to  Mr.  Newstead  : — 
,  "  I  am  delighted  with  our  index— the  more  I  examine  it  the  better  I 
like  it.  Some  acknowledgments  have  come  in  already,  and  they  are 
most  pleasantly  cordial.  All  are  delighted  to  have  such  a  good  reference 
work  .  .  .  One  recipient  suggests  the  index  would  be  more  serviceable 
to  him  if  he  had  a  complete  set  of  my  reports  !  He  absolutely  enclosed 
a  list  of  deficiencies,  but  I  thought  he  had  best  buy,  and  only  sent  him 
that  for  1896." 

Other  letters  she  wrote  about  the  index  ''  were  on  much  the  same 
lines,  and  one  refers  to  the  cordial  letter  received  from  the  Board  of 
Agriculture  "  (Ed.). 


Chap,  ix.]  ANNUAL   REPORTS  65 

sent  in  up  to  date  in  an  octavo  volume  of  323  pages,  very 
fully  illustrated,  entitled  ^'Manual  of  Injurious  Insects,  with 
Methods  of  Prevention  and  Remedy";  and  in  1890  I 
followed  this  by  a  much  enlarged  demy-octavo  second 
edition  of  450  pages,  bearing  the  same  title.  In  1898,  under 
the  title  of  ^^  Handbook  of  Insects  Injurious  to  Orchard  and 
Bush  Fruits,  \vith  Means  of  Prevention  and  Remedy," 
pp.  280,  I  included  the  special  observations  on  fruit  infes- 
tations which  had  been  sent  me.  In  1900  I  published 
a  pamphlet  (also  illustrated)  entitled  ''  Flies  Injurious  to 
Stock  "  (pp.  80),  [p.  304]  giving  reports  of  observations  of  life 
history  and  habits,  and  also  of  means  of  prevention  of  a  few 
kinds  of  infestation.  These  were  given  as  shortly  as  they 
could  serviceably  be  dealt  with,  excepting  in  the  case  of  the 
Warble  fly,  Hypoderma  hovis.  Into  this  it  appeared  desir- 
able to  enter  more  fully,  it  having  been  under  my 
observation  since  the  year  1884,  and  having  been  carefully 
written  on  in  every  detail  of  habits  and  means  of  preven- 
tion, as  observed  by  my  contributors  and  myself  in  this 
country. 

Besides  the  above  publications,  I  arranged,  for  gratuitous 
circulation,  various  four-page  leaflets  on  our  commonest 
farm  pests.  Each  contained  an  illustration  and  as  much 
information  as  I  could  manage  to  condense  into  the  limited 
space.  Among  the  subjects  discussed  wxre  the  widely  des- 
tructive Wireworm  and  equally  destructive  grubs  of  the 
Daddy  Longlegs  or  Cranefly,  the  Mangold-leaf  maggot,  the 
Mustard  beetle,  the  minute  Stem  eel-worm  (which  causes  the 
malformed  growth  of  cereal  plants  known  as  "  tulip  root " 
and  does  much  harm  in  clover  shoots),  the  Warble  fly  and 
the  troublesome  Forest  fly.  Our  recent  investigations  have 
proved  this  last  to  be  present  in  two  other  districts  at  least, 
besides  the  New  Forest  and  its  vicinity  in  Hampshire,  to 
which  previously  it  had  been  supposed  to  be  almost  limited 
(p.  138).  For  the  leaflet  on  the  Warble  fly,  its  history,  and 
easily  practicable  methods  of  prevention  and  remedy,  there 
has  been  such  a  large  demand  that  various  issues  have  been 
successively  printed  amounting  to  170,000  copies,  including 
15,000  copies  which  the  Messrs.  Murray,  of  Aberdeen, 
requested  permission  to  print  at  their  own  cost. 

The  original  plan  (or  rather  that  w^hich  gradually  formed 
in  the  first  few  years)  of  arrangement  of  the  Annual  Reports 
appeared  to  meet  all  requirements,  so  long  as  the  require- 
ments of  the  case  remain  unaltered.  Year  after  year  such 
information  as  had   been   asked  for  was  sent,  gradually 

6 


66  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  ix. 

completing  most  of  the  histories  of  our  seriously  injurious 
crop  and  orchard  insects,  but  in  the  report  for  1899  it  was 
requisite  to  make  some  arrangement  for  insertion  of  dis- 
connected additional  observations  of  appearance,  habits, 
&c.,  of  insects,  previously  referred  to.  These  I  gave 
accordingly  in  an  appendix  under  the  heading  of  *'  Short 
Notices,"  not  to  encumber  the  report  with  repetitions  that 
could  be  avoided. 

In  1901,  when  about  to  publish  my  report  of  observa 
tions  of  the  preceding  year,  it  appeared  to  me  that  a  large 
proportion  of  the  new  information  contributed  bore  on 
points  of  scientific  entomological  interest,  or  of  occasional 
appearance  of  little  observed  attacks  of  very  little  interest 
or  use  to  the  majority  of  our  agriculturists  and  orchard 
growers,  and  quite  foreign  to  the  broad  scale  consideration 
of  pests,  which  was  the  object  of  these  reports.  It  seemed 
something  more  than  n/^necessary  to  continue  this  work, 
and  I,  therefore,  inserted  the  following  notice  in  the  preface 
of  my  Annual  Report  for  1900,  thus  closing  the  series  with 
the  closing  century  : — 

'^  But  now,  although  with  much  regret,  I  am  obliged  to  say 
that  I  feel  the  time  has  come  for  discontinuing  this  series  of 
Annual  Reports.  When  I  commenced  the  work  in  1877, 
comparatively  little  was  known  of  the  habits  and  means  of 
prevention  of  insects  seriously  injurious  to  our  crops,  and 
of  this  little  a  very  small  amount  was  accessible  for  public 
service,  and  I  undertook  the  series  of  reports  in  the  hope 
(so  far  as  in  my  power  lay)  of  doing  something  to  meet 
both  these  difficulties.  Firstly,  by  endeavouring  to  gain 
reliable  information  of  the  kind  needed  ;  and  secondly,  by 
publishing  this,  with  all  requisite  additions,  and  especially 
with  illustrations,  at  a  price  far  below  the  publication 
expenses,  so  that  it  might  be  accessible  to  all  who  wished 
to  purchase,  but  especially  by  sending  a  copy  of  each 
Annual  Report  to  each  contributor  who  had  favoured  me 
with  useful  information.  It  seemed  to  be  but  right  and 
fair  that  those  who  kindly  helped  in  the  work  should  have 
their  courtesy  acknowledged  to  the  best  of  my  power,  and 
I  have  continued  the  reciprocation  throughout.  But  the 
work  was  hard ;  for  many  years  for  about  five  or  six  months 
all  the  time  I  could  give  to  the  subject  was  devoted  to 
arranging  the  contributions  of  the  season  for  the  Annual 
Report  of  the  year,  with  the  addition  of  the  best  informa- 
tion I  could  procure  from  other  sources  (in  every  case, 
whether  of  contributors  or  otherwise,  fully  acknowledged). 


Chap,  ix.]  ANNUAL   REPORTS  67 

As  the  consultation  enquiries  were  kept  up  during  winter 
as  well  as  summer,  I  found  the  work,  carried  on  single- 
handed,  at  times  very  fatiguing.  But  so  long  as  there 
appeared  to  be  a  call  for  it,  I  have  tried  to  do  what  I  could. 
Now,  however,  the  necessities  of  the  case  have  (as  a  matter 
of  course)  been  gradually  changing.  Year  after  year  in- 
formation has  been  sent,  gradually  completing  the  histories 
of  most  of  our  worst  insect  pests,  and  now  additional 
information  is  rare  (as  is  to  be  expected  after  twenty-four 
years'  observations)  on  points  of  great  agricultural  im- 
portance. 

"  I  claim  no  credit  to  myself  in  the  work  ;  but  those  who 
will  look  over  the  names  of  the  contributors,  given  with 
their  information,  will  see  how  deeply  indebted  I  am  to 
them,  and  to  other  good  friends,  who  have  placed  their 
experience  and  great  knowledge  at  the  public  service.  To 
them,  and  to  all  who  have  assisted  me,  and  to  some  who 
have  allowed  what  began  as  agricultural  communications  to 
ripen  into  valuable  friendship,  1  offer  my  grateful  thanks 
and  my  deep  appreciation  of  their  goodness,  and  I  trust 
they  will  believe  that  if,  as  I  well  know,  much  of  my  work 
has  not  been  so  well  done  as  it  would  have  been  in  better 
qualified  hands,  at  least  I  have  earnestly  tried  to  do  my 
very  best.''^ 

On  the  publication  of  the  above-mentioned  report,  I 
received  many  kind  letters  from  friends,  and  I  was  much 
gratified  by  the  press  allusions  on  the  matter.  These, 
obviously,  it  would  not  be  desirable  for  me  to  do  more 
here  than  just  allude  to  generally,  with  my  thanks.^ 

'  Preface  to  "Twenty-fourth  Report  of   Observations  of   Injurious 
Insects."     By  E.  A.  Ormerod,  LL.D.,  p.  vii. 
'  See  Appendix  B. 


CHAPTER  X 

SAMPLES  OF  LEGAL  EXPERIENCES 

It  was  a  good  many  years  after  my  name  had  been 
before  the  pubHc  as  an  official  Consulting  Entomologist 
that  I  began  occasionally  to  receive  applications  to  furnish 
what  is  called  '* expert"  evidence  regarding  insect  infesta- 
tion of  live  crops,  or  of  cargoes  of  flour.  To  work  this 
properly,  and  without  risk  of  being  confused  under 
examination  by  the  host  of  questions,  relevant  or  irrele- 
vant, and,  of  course,  made  purposely  perplexing  by  the 
legal  representatives  of  the  opposing  side  of  the  case, 
involved  a  most  inconvenient  amount  of  research  and 
also  of  mental  strain.  It  was  necessary  to  keep  all  points 
in  any  way  likely  to  be  referred  to,  classed  in  order  in 
the  mind,  and  available  instantaneously  without  hurry 
or  confusion  ;  and  sometimes  also  necessary  in  helping 
non-entomological  cross-examiners  so  to  formulate  their 
questions  as  to  admit  of  any  answer  being  given. 

My  first  experience  of  anything  of  this  kind  was  in 
July,  1889,  when  I  received  a  copy  of  a  letter  written  by 
myself  on  September  20th  of  the  previous  year  relative  to 
a  certain  insect  attack,  of  which  specimens,  together  with 
samples  of  the  infested  plants,  had  then  been  sent  me. 
This  letter  was  accompanied  by  an  enquiry  whether  I 
could  swear  to  the  accuracy  of  my  statements.  This,  of 
course,  I  had  no  doubts  about.  It  was  a  perfectly  simple 
case,  and  I  replied  accordingly.  The  result  was  that  one 
morning  before  luncheon  my  sister  came  into  my  room  in 
perplexity,  and  announced  that  there  was  a  "  young  man  "  in 
my  study  who  wanted  to  speak  to  me,  but  who  he  was, 
or  where  he  came  from,  or  anything  except  that  it  was 
just  for  a  minute  that  he  wished  to  see  me,  nobody  had 
been  able  to  make  out.  I  believe  I  guessed  pretty  well 
the  nature  of  the  mysterious  business  ;  but,  as  for  explana- 
tion, the  young  man  was  perfectly  impenetrable,  excepting 

68 


Chap,  x.]  LEGAL   EXPERIENCES  69 

on  two  points.  One  that  he  was  to  give  me  a  paper  which 
I  accepted,  and  next  that  he  was  to  give  me  some  small 
amount  of  money,  which  I  also  accepted,  not  knowing 
whether  any  other  course  was  open  to  me.  As  this  was  the 
first  (and  also  last)  case  of  a  subpoena  being  served  on  me,  I 
do  not  know  whether  the  immense  reticence  is  part  of  the 
business,  or  whether  the  server  is  possibly  in  danger  of  bad 
language  or  unpleasant  treatment,  but  certainly  the  visitor 
appeared  very  uneasy,  and  took  himself  off  as  soon  as 
possible.  On  examining  the  paper  I  found  it  called  me  to 
give  evidence  on  the  side  of  the  defendants,  which  was 
a  little  awkward,  as  after  due  investigation  of  details  I  found 
that  the  entomological  circumstances  would  give  the  case 
for  the  plaintiffs.     It  ran  as  follows  : — 

**  In  the  High  Court  of  Justice  between  Thomas  Wilkin- 
son, Plaintiff,  and  The  Houghton  Main  Colliery  Company, 
Limited,  Defendants.  Victoria,  by  the  Grace  of  God,  of  the 
United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  Queen, 
Defender  of  the  Faith,  to  Miss  Eleanor  A.  Ormerod,  of 
Torrington  House,  St.  Albans,  in  the  County  of  Herts. 
Greeting. — We  command  you  to  attend  before  our  Justices 
assigned  to  take  the  assizes  in  and  for  the  West  Riding 
Division  of  the  County  of  York  to  be  holden  at  Leeds 
on  Wednesday  the  24th  day  of  July,  1889,  at  the  hour  of 
ten  in  the  forenoon  and  so  from  day  to  day  during  the  said 
assizes  until  the  above  cause  is  tried  to  give  evidence  on 
behalf  of  the  Defenders,  &c." 

On  the  back  of  the  document  was  inscribed  (name  and 
address  given)  that  the  writ  was  issued  by  the  London 
Agents  of  J.  Parker  Rhodes,  of  Rotherham,  Yorkshire, 
defendants'  solicitor.  I  felt  myself  very  unpleasantly 
situated,  more  particularly  as  one  of  my  legal  brothers 
assured  me  that  I  should  make  myself  (or  be  made)  quite 
ridiculous  in  Court,  but  I  did  not  see  the  matter  quite  in 
this  light,  for  I  was  sure  of  my  facts.  I  explained  to  the 
solicitor  for  the  defendants  that  if  put  in  the  witness  box  I 
must  support  the  cause  of  the  plaintiff.  The  case  was  then 
withdrawn  and  costs  allowed  to  the  plaintiff. 

Ten  years  afterwards  I  was  employed  by  Messrs.  Ross  T. 
Smyth  and  Co.,  33,  Mark  Lane,  London,  E.C.  The  case 
was  entered  on  March  9,  1899,  and  the  matter  in  question 
was  alleged  infestation  of  a  cargo  of  flour,  transmitted  from 
New  York,  U.S.A.,  to  Durban,  S.  Africa.  I  gave  evidence 
on  oath  here,  Torrington  House,  St.  Albans,  on  October  20, 
1899,  before  Mr.  E.  K.  Blyth  (of  Messrs.  Blyth,  Dutton, 


70  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  x. 

Hartley  and  Blyth),  appointed  a  Commissioner  of  the  High 
Court  of  Natal,  to  take  my  evidence  in  the  cause  of  Smyth 
V.  Findlay.  On  Tuesday  the  24th  following,  Mr.  E.  K. 
Blyth  attended  with  depositions  w^hich  I  read  and  signed 
in  his  presence.  Subjoined  is  a  copy  of  my  ^'  Report  on 
Insect  Presence,"  and  also  an  extract  from  a  confirmatory 
report  made  by  Mr.  Oliver  Janson  doubly  confirrrfed  by  the 
report  of  a  representative  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture, 
Division  of  Entomology,  Washington  : — 

"  I  have  examined  the  contents  of  the  box  and  bottle  this 
day  submitted  to  me  from  yourselves,  the  bottle  being  under 
seal  of  Messrs.  Randle  Brothers  and  Hudson,  Durban, 
Natal,  &c.,  &c.  I  made  my  examination  both  with  hand 
magnifiers  and  microscope  and  found  that  in  the  very 
small  amount  of  insect  presence  in  the  w^heat  flour  and 
in  the  spirit  or  preservative  fluid,  there  were  two  kinds 
of  beetles  represented.  One  of  these  was  the  TriholUnn 
fernigineuju,  popularly  know^n  as  the  Rusty-red  flour 
beetle  (fig.  70).  This  is  a  small  red-brown,  or  yellowish-red- 
brown,  beetle,  about  a  sixth  of  an  inch  long,  somewhat 
parallel-sided  and  narrow  in  proportion  to  its  length;  the 
wing-cases  striated  longitudinally,  and  the  antennae  (or 
horns)  with  a  three-jointed  club  at  the  extremity.  I 
found  this  beetle  present  in  all  its  stages  of  development ; 
that  is,  as  a  comparatively  long  and  narrow  larva  (grub  or 
maggot)  ;  in  the  chrysalis  (pupa)  state,  in  which  it  resembles 
the  beetle  with  its  limbs  folded  beneath  it  until  development 
is  complete  ;  and  the  perfect  beetles. 

*^  I  also  found  one  specimen  of  what  is  called  the  Cadelle 
in  larval  (grub  or  maggot)  state.  This  is  a  pitchy-coloured 
beetle,  Trogosita  maiiritanica  or  Tenehroides  maiiritanicuSy 
rather  larger  than  the  kind  above  named,  being  about  four 
times  longer.  I  examined  the  whole  amount  of  insect 
infestation  sifted  in  my  presence  from  the  wheat  flour 
under  consideration  or  taken  out  of  the  bottle  of  preserva- 
tive fluid,  and  in  the  very  small  amount  of  insect  presence 
observable,  I  found  nothing  else  to  w^hich  the  slightest 
degree  of  importance  could  be  attached.  In  reply  to  the 
inquiry  submitted  to  me,  as  to  the  possibility  of  the  bags 
of  wheat  flour  under  consideration  having  been  infested 
when  they  w^ere  shipped  from  New  York,  on  or  about 
July  the  5th,  1898  ;  I  can  state  that  I  fully  believe  the 
flour  could  not  then  have  been  infested,  as  in  such 
case — consequent  on  the  well-known  exceedingly  favour- 
able   conditions    for    multiplication     of     insect    presence, 


Chap,  x.]  LEGAL   EXPERIENCES  71 

through  which  the  bags  of  flour  would  pass  during  the 
voyage — there  would  certainly  by  the  date  of  arrival  at 
Durban,  on  or  about  September  14th,  have  been  so  great 
an  amount  of  infestation  in  all  stages,  that  it  could  not 
have  been  overlooked.  And  by  the  further  dates  named, 
in  the  following  October  and  November,  it  would  have  been 
overwhelming.  The  exceedingly  high  temperatures  through 
which  the  shipment  would  pass  are  known  to  be  very 
favourable  to  rapid  propagation  of  successive  genera- 
tions of  Tribolium.  It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  infestation  does  not  lie  in  a  torpid  state,  but  after 
hatching  from  the  tgg  (sometimes  inaccurately  called 
the  "  germ "),  which  soon  occurs  in  high  temperatures, 
it  passes  through  the  changes  from  larva  (or  grub)  to 
chrysalis,  and  beetle  condition  more  or  less  quickly  accord- 
ing to  warmth  of  locality  ;  and  then  the  male  and  female 
beetles  pair,  and  in  the  ordinary  course  die,  in  the  case  of 
the  female  after  egg-laying.  Examination  of  the  condition 
of  the  flour,  had  infestation  been  present,  would  have  shown 
not  only  the  living  infestation,  but  also  the  dead  bodies 
of  the  previous  generations  of  beetles,  which  being  of  a  hard 
and  horny  nature  externally,  would  not  have  decayed  in  the 
flour. 

"  Further,  not  only  is  great  warmth  favourable  to  increase  of 
Trtboliimi,  but  also  the  conditions,  when  flour  is  placed  in 
bags  and  left  unopened  for  any  length  of  time,  are  especially 
suited  to  their  propagation.  I  can  also  state  that  the  effect 
of  Tribolium  infestation  on  flour  is  such  that  its  presence 
even  to  a  small  amount  could  not  be  unobserved,  and  these 
characteristics  were  wholly  absent  in  the  flour  submitted  to 
me.  To  the  best  of  my  knowledge  and  belief  I  consider  it 
to  be  absolutely  and  demonstrably  impossible  that  the 
infestation  regarding  which  the  inquiry  is  now  before  me 
could  have  been  shipped  from  New  York,  and  after  the 
most  careful  examination  and  investigation  which  I  am  able 
to  make,  I  consider  that  the  infestation  took  place  after  the 
arrival  of  the  flour  at  Durban. 

"  May  I,  in  addition  to  the  above  opinion,  be  permitted  to 
suggest  to  you  that  as  this  investigation  is  one  of  great 
importance,  it  might  be  satisfactory  to  yourselves  if  you 
were  also  to  submit  the  samples,  which  I  have  re-secured 
under  my  own  seal,  to  Mr.  Oliver  E.  Janson,  F.E.S.,  as 
being  a  skilled  entomologist,  and  so  well  qualified  by 
personal  observation  and  scientific  knowledge  of  the 
Coleoptera  (beetles),  to  give  a  correct  opinion  in  the  present 


72  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  [Chap.  x. 

matter,  that  I  should  consider  him  to  be  the  most  thoroughly 
trustworthy  English  referee." 

Mr.  Janson's  report  was  as  follows  : — 

^*  Having  carefully  examined  the  specimens  of  insects 
submitted  to  me  under  seal  of  Miss  E.  A.  Ormerod,  and 
stated  to  have  been  found  in  the  accompanying  sample  of 
flour,  named  ^  Radiant/  '  Strathness/  also  the  specimens 
of  insects,  &c.  &c.,  I  identify  them  as  the  coleopterous 
insect,  known  scientifically  as  Trlbolium  ferrugiiieiiin,  in  its 
various  stages  of  larva  (grub),  pupa  (chrysalis),  and  imago 
(beetle).  I  also  find  a  single  specimen  of  Trogosita 
maiirltanica.  .  .  In  considering  the  important  question  as 
to  origin  of  the  infestation,  I  am  of  opinion  that  the 
evidence  afforded  clearly  indicates  the  origin  of  the  infesta- 
tion to  have  been  subsequent  to  the  arrival  of  the  flour  at 
Durban." 

[The  case  never  came  to  trial,  but  the  unanimity  of  the 
expert  opinion  enabled  Messrs.  Ross  T.  Smith  &  Co.  to 
effect  a  compromise  on  terms  they  were  willing  to  accept.] 

The  following  letter  addressed  to  us  by  Mr.  Wm.  Simpson 
of  Messrs.  R.  &  H.  Hall,  Limited,  of  Cork,  Dublin, 
Belfast  and  Waterford,  shows  a  similar  satisfactory  termina- 
tion to  a  case  in  which  granary  weevils  had  done  serious 
damage  to  a  cargo  of  flour  from  San  Francisco. 

^*  Westport,  Feb.  6,  1900.  Dear  Madam, — Perhaps  you 
have  not  quite  forgotten  my  visit  to  you  in  early  summer 
of  last  year  when  I  submitted  for  your  inspection  a  sample 
of  flour  with  weevil  infestation  from  a  cargo  landed  here. 
It  will  I  am  sure  interest  you  to  know  that  we  have  just 
settled  the  case  out  of  Court  by  the  owners  of  the  vessel 
paying  us  ;£9oo  and  our  costs.  We  are  pleased  that  the 
matter  is  thus  ended,  but  I  cannot  forbear  from  again 
thanking  you  for  all  the  attention  and  help  you  gave  us  in 
the  case  and  which  was  to  us  of  the  greatest  value.  Yours 
very  truly,  (Sgd)  Wm.  Simpson." 


CHAPTER  XI 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH   BY  THE   EDITOR 

The  removal  of  Miss  Ormerod  and  her  sister,  Georgiana, 
from  Torquay  to  Spring  Grove,  Isleworth,  was  primarily 
because  Torquay  did  not  suit  their  health  and  secondarily 
because  at  Isle  worth  they  were  near  Kew  Gardens,  where 
they  were  on  intimate  terms  with  Sir  Joseph  and  Lady 
Hooker.  They  left  again  for  Torrington  House,  St.  Albans, 
in  September,  1887,  partly  because  Sir  Joseph  resigned  the 
Directorship  of  Kew  Gardens  in  1885  and  partly  because  of 
the  increase  of  population,  and  the  defective  and  unwhole- 
some drainage  of  the  house.  In  a  letter  (p.  74)  to  Dr. 
Bethune,  one  of  her  esteemed  Canadian  correspondents, 
she  refers  to  her  impending  change  of  residence. 

DuNSTER  Lodge,  Spring  Grove,  Isleworth. 

August  7,  1887. 
"  My  dear  Mr.  Bethune,— I  have  very  often  lately  been 
hoping  to  hear  of  your  safe  arrival,  and  I  am  very  glad  to 
hear  of  it ;  but  I  am  so  sorry  that  I  cannot  have  the  great 
pleasure  of  seeing  you  to-morrow,  for  I  have  to  be  at  St. 
Albans  to  meet  a  number  of  people  on  business  from  noon 
till  4  p.m.  This  is  a  great  disappointment  to  me,  for  I  (we) 
had  much  looked  forward  to  a  chat  with  you.  I  am  long- 
ing to  hear  of  my  kind  friends  in  Canada  and  especially  of 
Mr.  Fletcher  and  Professor  Saunders,  and  I  want  much  to 
ask  you  how  to  transmit  so  much  of  a  set  of  my  entomolo- 
gical publications  as  I  can  get  together  for  acceptance  by 
the  Entomological  Society  of  Ontario.  ^     I   cannot  tell  you 

'  The  Entomological  Society  of  Ontario  was  originated  by  Dr. 
Saunders  and  Dr.  Bethune  nearly  forty  years  ago.  Its  headquarters 
are  in  London,  Ontario,  and  it  has  branches  in  Toronto,  Montreal  and 
Quebec.  Its  publications  are  the  monthly  Canadian  Entomologist,  now 
in  its  thirty-fifth  volume,  and  thirty-three  annual  reports  to  the  Legisla- 
ture of  Ontario  on  Noxious  and  Beneficial  Insects.  Miss  Ormerod  was 
an  Honorary  Member. 

73 


74  BIOGRAPHICAL  [Chap.  xi. 

how  much  I  respect  and  admire  the  working  of  that  noble 
Society,  and  I  feel  myself  greatly  honoured  by  being  elected 
one  of  its  members.  Hessian  fly  (fig.  15)  is  indeed  becoming 
a  scourge — and  the  work  is  enormous — it  is  a  different  story 
now  to  when  I  was  so  roundly  sneered  at  last  year  for  think- 
ing it  had  come.  If  we  had  our  grand  Entomological 
Society  of  Ontario  here  things  might  have  been  very 
different.  I  trust  you  may  be  able  to  spare,  if  only 
one  hour  to  give  us  just  time  to  confer  a  little  on  your 
return.  I  would  put  aside  any  ordinary  engagement  for  the 
pleasure  and  also  the  benefit  of  an  entomological  conver- 
sation. But  now  about  my  sister  and  myself.  This  place  is 
fast  becoming  very  unsuitable  for  us — you  will  know  all  that 
is  involved  in  the  rapid  increase  of  the  outskirts  of  London 
— and  we  have  a  notice  of  most  of  our  garden  going  to  be 
offered  for  sale  next  year  for  small  building  plots.  There- 
fore we  are  making  arrangements  to  move  about  the  end  of 
next  month  to  St.  Albans.  We  have  many  good  friends  and 
fellow-workers  there  or  near,  and  the  place  is  very  healthy, 
and  very  accessible  both  for  London  and  the  country,  and 
I  can,  I  trust,  do  my  work  much  more  fully  there." 

Of  Miss  Ormerod  Lady  Hooker  has  written  :  ^'  When 
she  was  our  neighbour  during  our  residence  at  Kew, 
she  w^as  a  frequent  visitor  at  our  house  and  often  came  in 
the  morning  before  public  hours  to  the  Gardens,  to  pursue 
her  researches  and  look  for  the  insects  to  be  found  on  the 
trees,  shrubs  and  plants  ;  on  these  occasions  she  generally 
lunched  with  us  and  we  delighted  in  her  bright  and  in- 
tellectual conversation.  She  was  extremely  fond  of  animals 
and  birds,  and  could  imitate  the*  calls  of  the  animals  and  the 
notes  of  many  birds  so  perfectly  that  she  could  collect 
the  creatures  around  her  ;  it  was  curious  to  see  the  squirrels 
peep  out  from  the  trees  when  she  called  to  them  and 
venture  to  her  feet  for  the  nuts  she  scattered  for  them.  Her 
observation  was  always  on  the  alert  and  she  saw  many  minute 
things  in  nature  that  others  would  have  passed  by.  She 
was  a  fine  artist — and  so  w^as  her  sister.  Miss  G.  Ormerod. 
At  one  time  my  husband  was  needing  some  drawings  made 
for  the  Botanical  Magazine  and  she  offered  her  services  and 
drew  three  or  four  very  beautifully." 

Lady  Hooker  made  a  practice  of  inviting  Miss 
Ormerod  and  her  sister  to  come  over  and  help  to  enter- 
tain distinguished  visitors  at  great  functions  and  on  the 
occasion    of   visits   of   official   scientific  parties.     On    one 


Chap,  xl]  SKETCH   BY  THE   EDITOR  75 

occasion  the  whole  Chinese  Embassy,  excepting  the 
Ambassador  himself,  came  in  Chinese  costume.  Miss 
Ormerod  asked  permission  of  Lady  Hooker  to  speak  to  the 
Naturalist,  who  talked  English  very  well.  The  information 
elicited  however  was  but  trifling,  amounting  to  the  fact  that 
in  China  a  yellow  powder  (probably  flowers  of  sulphur)  was 
used  to  dress  plants  to  ward  off  disease.  She  suggested  tea 
as  an  escape  from  a  disappointing  position  and  then 
adjourned  to  the  tea-room  followed  by  the  whole  Embassy. 
The  Entomologist  took  tea,  but  another  minor  member 
of  the  group,  being  reputed  at  times  to  indulge  in 
potations  to  which  the  hosts  were  not  accustomed,  gave 
great  cause  for  anxiety  by  taking  possession  of  a  wine 
bottle.  Miss  Ormerod  was  successful  in  spiriting  the  bottle 
away  and  in  substituting  a  cup  of  tea,  but  great  was  her 
relief  when  Sir  Joseph  and  Lady  Hooker  arrived  on  the  scene. 
At  Kew  she  also  met  Andrew  Murray,  Secretary  of  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society,  who  did  excellent  work  in 
Economic  Entomology  for  the  Bethnal  Green  and  South 
Kensington  Museums.  Miss  Ormerod  described  him  as  a 
^*  profoundly  scientific  and  intellectual  man." 

An  interesting  instance  of  the  widespread  benefit  of  Miss 
Ormerod's  work  and  the  affection  with  which  her  name  and 
personality  were  revered  by  her  distant  correspondents  was 
supplied  by  Dr.  Lipscomb,  her  trusted  medical  attendant. 
He  says  : — 

"  My  sister  was  talking  to  a  small  market  gardener  in  a 
flower  garden  she  was  painting  near  Penzance,  and  Miss 
Ormerod's  name  happened  to  be  mentioned.  The  old 
gardener  was  beside  himself  with  delight  to  meet  some  one 
who  knew  Miss  Ormerod.  He  said  she  had  saved  him 
from  utter  ruin.  His  flowers  had  become  infected  with 
some  injurious  insect  which  bade  fair  to  devastate  the  whole 
garden.  In  despair,  hearing  of  Miss  Ormerod,  he  wrote  to 
her  and  not  only  received  a  kind  letter  of  advice,  but  also 
a  copy  of  her  work  on  injurious  Insects'  with  the  page 
turned  down  and  the  paragraphs  specially  applicable  to  the 
case  marked.  No  wonder  the  poor  old  chap  with  tears  in 
his  eyes  said  he  loved  his  unknown  benefactress." 

Miss  Ormerod  was  appointed  Consulting  Entomologist  to 
the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England  in  1882,  and 
for  ten  years  retained  that  honourable  position  to  the 
advantage  of  the  Members  and  the  British  public  generally. 


76  BIOGRAPHICAL  [Chap.  xi. 

The  need  of  a  Consulting  Entomologist  was  forcibly 
brought  home  to  the  Society,  then  under  the  presidency  of 
Mr.  J.  Dent-Dent,  by  the  disastrous  attack  in  1881  of  the 
Turnip  fly,  or  more  correctly  flea  beetle,  which  resulted  in  an 
estimated  loss  of  over  half  a  million  sterling  to  farmers  in 
England  and  Scotland.  Leading  agriculturists  all  over 
the  country,  but  more  from  the  East  than  the  West,  supplied 
information  for  a  report,  and  special  assistance  was  given 
by  some  members  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society,  in- 
cluding Mr.  J.  H.  Arkwright  of  Hampton  Court,  Hereford- 
shire. The  results  were  embodied  in  the  Annual  Report 
for  1881,  published  in  1882. 

A  short  time  after  this  event  a  request  was  made 
to  Miss  Ormerod  to  indicate  whether  she  would  accept 
the  post  of  Consulting  Entomologist  to  the  Royal  Agri- 
cultural Society.  Urged  by  Mr.  Charles  Whitehead, 
Chairman  of  the  ''Seeds  and  Plant  Diseases  Committee," 
and  by  her  intimate  personal  friend  Professor  Herbert 
Little,  another  member  of  the  Council,  she  accepted, 
but  with  hesitation  and  with  considerable  reluctance, 
engendered  by  the  opposition  of  her  sister  Georgiana,  who 
believed  her  strength  was  not  equal  to  the  strain  of  addi- 
tional work.  The  meeting  with  members  of  the  Council 
at  the  Society's  offices,  12,  Hanover  Square,  London,  at 
which  details  were  discussed,  was  unusually  trying,  in  spite 
of  the  kindly  courtesy  of  the  Secretary  (Mr.  H.  M.  Jenkins) 
for  whom  Miss  Ormerod  entertained  the  deepest  regard. 
She  says,  writing  in  1900,  ''  I  was  nearly  frightened  out 
of  my  wits  in  going  through  the  requested  ordeal,  and 
the  recollections  of  the  experiences  remain  as  uniquely 
unpleasant.  On  arriving,  I  gave  my  card  to  the  attendant, 
who  led  me  upstairs,  where  I  expected  to  meet  but  two 
or  three  people,  and  I  was  ushered  into  a  room  full  of 
gentlemen  standing  waiting  my  arrival,  not  one  of  whom 
except  Professor  Little  was  known  to  me  even  by  sight. 
I  advanced  about  two  feet,  my  sole  thought  being  of  the 
awkward  fix  in  which  I  had  so  suddenly  been  landed, 
and  how  I  should  get  out  of  it.  Scarcely  a  word  was 
spoken  when  I  was  led  down  again  to  the  Secretary's 
room,  where  a  discussion  took  place  with  Professor  Little, 
Mr.  Whitehead,  the  Secretary,  and  the  President  of  the 
Society, — the  others  remained  absent.  In  the  discussion 
the  President  attempted  a  slight  examination  of  my  qualifi- 
cations, but  it  amounted  to  little  more  than  eliciting  the 
length  of  time  during  which  attention  had  been  devoted  to 


Chap,  xl]         SKETCH    BY  THE   EDITOR  77 

Entomology.  My  reply  was  "  about  thirty  years,"  to  which 
he  had  nothing  further  to  say.  There  was  a  slight  de- 
parture from  the  serious  nature  of  the  interview  when  a 
parcel  of  Daddy  longlegs  grubs  which  had  been  placed 
on  the  table,  gave  way,  and  the  creatures  crawled  all  over 
the  place.  The  final  result  was,  that  I  agreed  to  take  the 
post  of  Consulting  Entomologist,  but  I  returned  home  very 
uneasy  in  mind  and  wrote  the  same  evening  that  I  did 
not  wish  to  accept  ofBce.  I  was,  however,  pressed  into 
acceptance  at  the  first  business  meeting  and  the  first  work  I 
undertook  was  the  making  of  drawings  to  form  originals 
for  six  diagrams  illustrating  some  common  injurious 
insects  with  life  histories  and  methods  of  prevention.^ 
This  would  be  the  first  Tuesday  of  June,  1882,  and  I 
inaugurated  my  position  on  the  way  home  by  meeting 
with  a  severe  accident  at  Waterloo  Station,  from  the 
results  of  which  I  have  never  recovered.  While  doubt- 
less rather  preoccupied,  crossing  the  road,  a  rapid  incline 
from  Waterloo  Road  to  the  station,  I  did  not  notice  a 
carriage  coming  down  the  slope  till  the  horses'  heads  were 
over  mine.  With  no  time  to  run  or  turn,  I  sprang  and 
landed  on  the  pavement,  but  a  sharp  pain  set  in,  in  the 
muscle  above  one  knee.  Whether  it  originated  from  a 
strain  or  a  blow  I  never  knew,  but  a  little  flask  I  carried 
on  the  injured  side  was  beaten  in  as  if  by  a  horse's  foot 
or  the  point  of  a  carriage  pole.  The  injury  was  not 
properly  attended  to  and  the  affected  part  gradually 
increasing  and  spreading  gave  rise  to  the  lameness 
accompanied  with  severe  and  frequently  intermittent  pain 
which  necessitated  exceeding  quiet  and  bodily  inacti- 
vity—a state  of  matters  which  was  in  marked  contrast  to 
the  extremely  active  life  I  had  led  in  my  early  years 
rambling  in  the  country,  and  latterly  by  indulging  in  the 
mechanical  in  addition  to  the  usual  aesthetical  pleasures  of 
gardening." 

She  explains  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Fletcher,  dated  August  22, 
1892  (p.  212)  that  she  was  driven  by  failing  health  to  resign 
her  honorary  official  work  and  to  concentrate  her  energies 
upon  her  private  work,  which  steadily  increased  in  volume, 
and  especially  on  the  work  of  her  Annual  Report. 

A  conception  of  the  interesting  methods  adopted  by  Miss 
Ormerod  in  carrying  out  her  work  may  be  gleaned  from  her 

'  Details  were  given  in  a  letter  to  Colonel  Coussmaker  of  August  i, 
1885,  p.  99. 


78  BIOGRAPHICAL  [Chap.  xi. 

own  words  addressed  to  us  in  the  course  of  a  long  and 
intimate  correspondence. 

"  I  will  now  try  and  think  of  something  you  may  care  to 
insert  about  languages.  So  far  as  I  can  avoid  it,  I  try  not  to 
write  in  any  language  but  my  own,  but  I  can  read  serviceably 
French,  Italian,  and  Spanish,  and  also  Latin  for  what  I  need ; 
likewise,  of  course,  German  ;  Russian  I  could  read  once  but 
not  so  readily  now ;  and  with  the  dictionary  I  can  make 
something  of  Dutch  and  Norwegian." 

"  Of  my  very  special  colleagues  who  are  now  gone  from 
us,  were  Professor  Westwood,  Life  President  of  the  Entomolo- 
gical Society,  and  Dr.  C.  V.  Riley,  Entomologist  of  the  Board 
of  Agriculture  of  the  U.S.A.  ;  and  Professor  Huxley,  in  days 
when  I  sat  on  the  Council  of  Education  Committee  of 
Economic  Entomology,  was  a  valued  friend.  It  was  marvel- 
lous to  see  how  Huxley  with  his  towering  personality  led  a 
committee.  On  one  occasion  he  asked  if  any  one  present 
would  express  an  opinion  on  the  subject  under  consideration, 
and  he  rather  suddenly  directed  his  attention  to  a  certain 
member  of  committee,  who  was  so  startled  he  nearly  got 
frightened  out  of  his  life."  ^ 

"  The  regular  course  of  my  work  brings  me  into  such  con- 
stantly recurring  communication  with  the  Entomological 
Departments  of  our  own  Colonies,  also  of  many  of  the 
U.S.A.  States,  and  various  Continental  Societies  or 
specialists,  that  I  may  venture  to  say  that  as  occasion  occurs 
we  interchange—;-!  mean  the  heads  of  the  Departments  and 
myself — friendly  observations,  very  beneficial  and  pleasant 
to  me.  The  plan  of  my  work  has  long  been  to  reply,  if  I 
could  do  so  soundly,  to  every  enquiry  on  the  day  of  receipt. 
Often  investigation  is  needed  for  scientific  purposes,  but  a 
large  proportion  of  the  enquiries  may  be  answered  at  once 
so  far  as  the  practical  needs  of  the  enquirers  are  concerned. 
For  further  purposes  my  custom  is  to  work  up  anything  new 
or  involved  that  occurs,  for  use  in  the  following  Annual 
Report.  I  do  not  devolve  on  my  specialist  referees  the 
researches  (so  far  as  I  can  ascertain  the  state  of  the  case), 
but  they  tell  me  if  my  identification  is  correct ,  or  correct  it 
for  me,  and  I  quite  invariably,  if  the  matter  be  for  publication, 
publish  also  my  acknowledgment.  The  correspondence 
continues  steadily  all  the  year  round,  more  of  course 
in  the  warm  seasons  of  the  year  than  at  other  times,  but  even 
in  winter  it  never  ceases.  My  plan  has  generally  been  to 
store  up  all  the  observations  of  the  growing  (and  conse- 
*  See  "  Letters  from  Huxley,"  pp.  85-87. 


Chap,  xl]  SKETCH    BY  THE   EDITOR  '  79 

quently  insect-attacking)  times  of  the  year  till  autumn,  and 
then  sort  them  and  prepare  them  for  the  Annual  Report  of 
that  year.  If  some  favourite  subject  be  under  discussion 
the  letters  may  be  very  numerous.  I  once  had  a  run  of  60, 
80,  to  100  a  day  for  a  short  time,  including  on  one  day  a 
total  of  149 — but  of  course  on  such  an  occasion  I  was 
obliged  to  get  help  to  keep  reply  at  all  in  hand.  The 
steady  letter  work  of  the  year  I  estimate  at  about  1,500." 

Referring  on  December  27,  1889,  to  a  proposal  which 
had  been  made  to  procure  an  assistant  to  relieve  her  of  the 
enormous  pressure  of  work,  she  says  : — 

"  I  need  not  point  out  that,  however  agreeable  the  post 
might  be  to  my  so-called  ^assistant,'  to  me  the  addition 
would  be  a  trouble — loss  of  time  and  other  inconveniences 
beyond  telling.  It  would  be  more  trouble  to  write  to  him 
than  to  attend  myself,  and  as  a  referee  he  would  be  almost 
useless.  My  reference  work  is  to  the  leading  men  of  the 
world — those  who  are  known,  literally,  as  the  authorities 
above  all  others  on  the  special  points  ;  thus  I  am  in  no  way 
derogating  from  the  respect  I  bear  to  Professor  Harker's  ^ 
knowledge,  but  who  that  knew  anything  would  have  cared 
for  his  opinion  on  Icerya  purchasi  (scale  insect  of  orange 
trees)  ?  Dr.  Signoret's  opinion  carried  all  before  it.  Again, 
no  one's  opinion  stands  like  that  of  Mr.  G.  B.  Buckton  on 
Aphides,  and  he  communicates  with  me  whenever  I  ask. 

*'On  that  most  important  agricultural  matter,  Tylenchus 
devastatrix,  there  is  no  one  in  England  fit  to  form  an 
opinion  worth  comparison  with  Drs.  de  Man  and  J. 
Ritzema  Bos,  by  whom  I  am  favoured,  through  being 
allowed  any  amount  of  communication.  These,  and  men 
like  these,  pre-eminent  each  in  his  own  line,  are  the 
referees  that  I  personally  am  honoured  by  being  allowed 
to  ask  aid  from  ;  and  in  my  own  humble  way  sometimes 
I  can  reciprocate,  but  ^  an  assistant '  would  do  me  no  good 
in  any  of  these  matters.  And  with  regard  to  agricultural 
and  applied  bearings  I  do  not  want  a  dictum,  but  year  by 
year  by  my  own  correspondence  with  agriculturists  to  work 
out  on  the  fields  the  parts  of  the  cases  as  they  occur,  and  to 
give  the  points  to  the  public  in  my  reports.  I  am  respon- 
sible for  the  entomological  work  of  the  R.A.S.E.,  and  unless 
it  goes  through  my  hands  I  do  not  know  what  may  be  going 
on,  and  no  one  would  know  to  whom  to  write,  or,  in  fact, 

'  The  late  Allen  Harker,  Professor  of  Biology  at  the  Royal  Agri- 
cultural College,  Cirencester. 


8o  BIOGRAPHICAL  [Chap.  xi. 

anything  definite  about  the  matter,  if  there  were  an  assistant. 
I  have  my  own  circle  of  helpers,  my  own  paid  special  referee, 
by  whom  I  reach  specialists  out  of  my  circle,  and  my  lady 
amanuensis  in  the  house,  besides  my  good  sister's  invaluable 
aid — always  promptly  and  ably  given.  So  long  as  I  can 
I  hope  to  keep  my  work  in  my  own  hands,  and  if  it  were 
not  for  the  great  masses  sometimes  sent  me,  which  come 
because  I  have  been  (up  to  the  present  time)  the  only 
Official  Entomologist  here,  the  work  would  not  have  been 
so  distressing.  Professor  Harker  is,  I  believe,  excellently 
qualified  to  hold  a  good  and  high  entomological  post,  but 
not  even  Professor  Riley  or  Professor  Westwood  would 
w^ork  a  post  without  referees.  Some  day,  I  hope,  he  may 
be  high  in  office ;  then  he  will,  as  I  do  now,  have  his 
organised  corresponding  staff." 

*^  As  a  meteorological  observer,  while  living  at  Isleworth 
my  work  consisted  in  taking  notes  on  about  eighteen 
different  subjects  once  a  day,  beginning  at  9  a.m.,  Green- 
wich time  precisely.  These  included  taking  the  readings 
of  the  maximum  and  minimum  temperatures,  and  also 
those  other  thermometrical  conditions,  as  of  dry  and  wet 
bulb,  solar,  earth,  and  ground  thermometers,  &c. ;  likewise 
of  rainfall  in  the  past  four-and-twenty  hours,  of  the  state 
of  weather  at  the  time  ;  the  nature  of  the  clouds,  with  the 
amount  and  direction  of  them,  and  likewise  the  direction 
and  estimated  speed  of  wind.  The  time  occupied  out-of- 
doors  in  the  observations  was  about  twenty  minutes,  to 
which  had  to  be  added  the  barometrical  reading  with  that 
of  the  attached  thermometers,  with  corrections  according 
to  tables  furnished  for  altitude  of  the  barometer,  and  such 
minute  errors  in  record  of  the  thermometers  as  were  shown 
by  tables  of  error  furnished  by  comparison  with  the  in- 
struments at  the  Royal  Observatory,  Kew.  Altogether  the 
work  required  some  considerable  amount  of  time,  and  also 
most  scrupulous  attention  to  accuracy,  not  to  say  some 
amount  of  personal  self-denial,  as  whatever  the  weather 
might  be  at  9  a.m.  the  work  had  to  be  done.  Perhaps 
there  would  be  a  thunderstorm,  or  at  other  times  cold  so 
great  that  my  fingers  almost  froze  to  the  instruments,  as 
on  one  occasion,  when  the  thermometer  registered  nearly 
down  to  zero." 

Professor  Westwood  belonged  to  the  good  old  academic 
type  of  scholar  who  made  the  responses  in  church  in  Latin. 
He  was,  till  his  death,  Miss  Ormerod's  mentor  from  her 


PLATE     XX. 


Miss  Ormerod  at  her  Meteorological  Observation  Station, 

NEAR   IsLEWORTH. 


To  face  p.  80, 


Chap,  xl]         SKETCH   BY  THE   EDITOR  8i 

initiation  into  Entomology,  and  she  regarded  him  as  the 
greatest  living  scientific  authority  in  the  broad  lines  of  their 
common  subject  during  the  whole  period  of  her  advisory 
work.  They  "  got  on  famously,"  and  as  she  said,  he  "  took 
the  privilege,"  which  she  highly  appreciated,  '^  of  knocking 
her  work  about,"  as  the  subjoined  letter,  written  at  an  early 
stage  of  her  career  as  an  authoress,  charmingly  shows. 

University  Museum,  Oxford, 

January  lo,  1884. 

My  dear  Miss  Ormerod, — I  congratulate  you  on  the 
publication  of  your  ^' Guide  to  Methods  of  Insect  Life" — 
the  nicest  little  Introduction  to  Entomology  with  which  I 
am  acquainted.  You  have  been  very  fortunate  in  obtaining 
such  a  good  series  of  woodcuts,  many  of  which  were  new 
to  me.  Allow  me  to  suggest  one  or  two  improvements 
after  a  hurried  glance  over  the  contents.  It  would  have 
been  well  to  have  indicated  more  precisely  the  size  of  some 
of  the  objects  figured  ;  for  instance,  the  locust,  p.  28,  is 
twice  the  size  of  the  figure — whilst  the  earwig,  on  the  same 
page,  is  about  one-half  the  length  of  the  figure.  In  p.  98, 
the  Death's-head  moth,  which  is  twice  the  size  of  the  Eyed- 
hawk  moth,  is  represented  smaller  than  it  is  in  next  page. 
In  p.  118  the  fly  is  the  Sirex  juvenciis,  not  the  commoner 
one  S.  gigas.  In  p.  125  the  Bee  parasite  has  not  the  front 
portion  of  the  wings  black,  but  as  milky  as  the  other  part. 
In  p.  73,  line  8,  for  "glassy"  read  "glossy."  I  know  you 
will  thank  me  for  these  hurried  suggestions,  or  I  would  not 
have  troubled  you  with  them. 

Thanks  for  your  kind  enquiries.  I  am  thankful  to  say 
that  after  two  months'  attack  of  bronchitis  I  am  nearly  all 
right  again,  but  have  been  much  confined  to  the  house, 
although  I  have  been  wanting  to  go  to  London.  My  kind 
remembrance  to  your  sister.  We  should  be  very  glad  if  you 
could  come  and  give  us  a  visit  for  a  short  time. — Yours  very 
truly,  J.  O.  Westwood. 

The  high  terms  of  approval  and  appreciation  of  her  work 
by  Miss  Ormerod's  numerous  foreign  correspondents  are 
shown  in  no  halting  manner  in  the  subjoined  letter  : — 

From  Dr.  J.  A.  Lintnery  New  York  State  Entomologist.'^ 

Albany,  N.Y. 

May  29,  1889. 

My  dear    Miss  Ormerod, — I   must    congratulate  you 
upon    your    last    Report.      It    is    excellent,    and    reflects 
'  Who  died  in  Rome  while  on  a  visit  to  Europe. 

7 


82  BIOGRAPHICAL  [Chap.  xi. 

great  credit  upon  you.  I  am  very  glad  that  your  letters 
have  been  so  appreciated  that  it  has  been  necessary  to 
summon  a  lady  private  secretary  to  your  aid.  It  will  be 
a  satisfaction  to  you  that  you  will  now  be  able  to  accom- 
plish much  more  than  before.  I  am  led  to  think  whether 
I  should  not  ask  our  next  Legislature  to  provide  for  an 
assistant  for  me. 

Your  kind  letter  of  the  loth  inst.  was  also  duly  received. 
How  strange,  and  how  very  interesting  to  me,  that  you 
should  discover  Cecidomyia  leguminicola  (Gnat  midge), 
red  maggot,  with  you,  as  you  have  done,  w^orking  at 
the  root — only  "  infesting  the  root,"  and  not,  so  far  as 
known,  attacking  the  head.  If  it  occurs  on  the  blossoms, 
you  should  have  been  able  to  find  it  there  by  the  time  that 
this  reaches  you,  for,  as  I  have  somewhere  mentioned,  the 
nearly-mature  larva  shows  a  disposition  to  leave  the  clover 
heads  very  soon  after  they  are  picked.  You  ask  if  I  have 
observed  this  form  in  other  cecids  of  the  clover.  We  have, 
so  far  as  known,  but  one  other  clover  cecid,  and  that  is 
your  introduced  C.  trifolii  (Clover  leaf  midge).  The  thought 
suggests  itself  to  examine  some  of  my  dried  leguminicola 
larvae.  I  am  glad  to  have  found  in  my  collection  examples 
preserved  in  alcohol  of  the  larvae  which  I  had  forgotten. 
As  I  put  up  quite  a  little  quantity  of  them,  I  can  spare  you 
these,  which  I  am  sure  will  be  acceptable  to  you. 

Your  investigation  of  the  "warble"  presence  (p.  no)  effect 
upon  the  beef-eater  will,  I  am  sure,  be  of  much  importance. 
One  of  our  Western  agricultural  papers  has  commenced  an 
investigation.  Probably  your  studies  and  publications  have 
incited  them  to  it. 

March  12,  1894. 
In  going  carefully  over  several  pages  of  your  seventeenth 
report,  which  came  to  me  last  week,  I  asked  myself,  "  Is  not 
this  the  best  report  that  Miss  Ormerod  has  written  ?  "  You 
are  pleased  to  bestow  praise  on  my  reports,  which  from  you 
is  agreeable  to  receive,  but  I  think  that  I  can  judge  of  their 
true  value,  and  very  glad  indeed  would  I  be  if  I  could  feel 
that  they  were  up  to  the  standard  of  yours.  These  are  far 
from  words  of  flattery,  but  are  said  because  I  believe  that 
you  need  encouragement.  Your  reports  have  high  merit 
and  value,  beyond  similar  writings  of  any  of  your  English 
contemporaries — yes,  far  beyond. — As  ever,  sincerely  yours, 

J.  A.  LiNTNER. 


CHAPTER  XII 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH   BY  THE   EDITOR   (continued) 

As  a  public  lecturer  Miss  Ormerod  achieved  a  high  measure 
of  success.  The  first  effort  in  this  capacity  was  made  at  the 
Royal  Agricultural  College,  Cirencester,  where  as  ^*  Special 
Lecturer  on  Economic  Entomology,"  she  delivered  six 
interesting  and  valuable  addresses  to  audiences  of  about 
120  students  and  professors  on  :  (i)  Injurious  Insects  ; 
(2)  Turnip  Fly ;  (3)  Effects  of  Weather  on  Insects  ;  (4)  Wire- 
worm  ;  (5)  Insect  Prevention  ;  (6)CEstridae — Warble  or  Bot 
Flies.  The  first  was  given  in  October,  1881,  and  the  last  in 
June,  1884.  On  the  first  occasion  Lord  Bathurst,  one  of 
the  Governors  of  the  College,  was  present,  and  Miss 
Ormerod  was  placed  between  Principal  McClellan  on  the 
one  hand  and  Professor  Barker  (biology)  on  the  other,  as 
her  sister  Georgiana  humorously  remarked  afterwards, 
''  for  fear  her  courage  should  fail  and  she  run  away." 
Her  anxieties  in  the  new  capacity  knew  no  bounds. 

Although  extremely  nervous  and  anxious  she  succeeded  in 
concealing  this  from  an  attentive  and  appreciative  audience, 
and  made  an  excellent  appearance. ^  She  declared  that 
while  walking  from  the  drawing-room  to  the  large  lecture 
theatre  at  the  opposite  corner  of  the  college  quadrangle  she 
could  not  utter  a  word,  and  on  this,  as  on  other  somewhat 
similar  exciting  occasions,  she  experienced  a  drumming  in 
her  head  which  she  failed  to  moderate  by  any  attempted 
remedial  measures.  After  about  three  years'  experience  as  a 
supernumerary  member  of  the  college  staff,  it  was  found 
that  the  preliminary  preparation  of  the  lectures  was  robbing 
her  steadily  increasing  general  work  of  time  which  was 
inconveniently  spared,  and,  although  it  was  considered  an 
honour  to  be  invited  to  give  special  lectures,  she  felt  it  to  be 
a  duty  to  her  main  work  to  retire. 

'  The  Editor,  having  been  present,  is  able  to  give  this  statement  on 
his  own  authority. 

83 


84  BIOGRAPHICAL  [Chap.  xii. 

During  this  period  one  lecture  was  delivered  before  the 
"  Institute  of  Agriculture/'  at  South  Kensington,  in  April, 
1883,  in  the  Lords  of  Council  lecture  hall,  where  as  usual 
she  was  in  a  state  of  trepidation  as  to  what  might  happen. 
The  audience  numbered  about  five  hundred — two  hundred 
and  fifty  of  whom  were  Government  students.  The  subject 
was  ^*  Insect  Injuries  to  Farm  Crops,  and  their  Prevention." 
A  number  of  minor  incidents  were  nevertheless  disturbing. 
To  begin  with,  the  driver  who  had  been  engaged  to  take  the 
lecturer  first  to  South  Kensington  and  again  in  the  evening  to 
Isleworth,  started  on  the  wrong  journey  first,  but  the  mistake 
was  discovered  before  he  had  gone  very  far  astray.  Then  a 
chairman  had  failed  to  appear  and  another  had  to  be 
anxiously  watched  for  at  the  door.  A  most  suitable  person 
was  at  last  found  in  the  President  of  the  Entomological 
Society.  All  went  well  for  a  time  until  Miss  Ormerod's  sight 
on  the  left  side  wholly  failed.  Being  subject  to  attacks  of 
migraine  from  overwork,  she  thought  one  of  these  had  come 
on,  but  on  moving  a  little  to  the  right  she  discovered  that  a 
brilliant  light  had  been  arranged  to  fall  on  the  diagrams,  and 
that  to  her  great  discomfort  she  had  got  into  the  line  of  it. 

A  rather  amusing  incident  occurred  as  the  last  dis- 
traction. The  object  was  to  place  the  elements  of  Ento- 
mology before  the  students  in  the  simplest  form  possible, 
but  a  few  definitions  were  first  necessary.  They  were  told 
to  realise  in  the  words  of  Professor  Westwood  that  insects 
were  ^*  Annulose  animals,  breathing  by  tracheae,  having  the 
head  distinct  and  provided  in  the  adult  stage  with  six 
articulated  legs,  and  antennae,  subject  also  to  a  series  of 
moultings  previously  to  attaining  perfection,  whereby  wings 
are  ordinarily  developed  ! " 

The  audience  burst  out  cheering,  thinking,  as  Professor 
Tanner  ^  explained  afterwards,  that  the  scientific  terms  were 
being  used  as  a  joke. 

Apropos  of  this  experience  she  wrote  on  October  14, 
1890,  to  Mr.  Robert  Newstead,  '^  If  I  could  find  time  I 
would  like  to  form  an  instructive  book,  on  the  plan  of 
which  I  enclose  a  few  lines — so  as  to  proceed  gradually 
from  a  foundation  well  known  to  the  pupils — thus  : — 

^^ Q,  What  is  an  insect  ?  ^.  A  fly  is  an  insect,  so  is  a 
moth  or  a  butterfly,  or  a  wasp,  or  a  grasshopper,  or  a 
cricket. 

"jg.  Is  a  spider  an  insect  ?    A,  No. 

*  The  organiser  of  and  first  Senior  Examiner  in  the  Agriculture 
Department,  South  Kensington. 


Chap,  xii.]        SKETCH    BY  THE   EDITOR  85 

'^  Q.  Why  not  ?  A.  Because  it  has  eight  legs,  and  never 
has  any  wings.  Insects  in  their  perfect  state  have  six  legs, 
and  usually  either  one  or  two  pairs  of  wings. 

^'  Q'  Why  do  you  say  in  their  perfect  state  ?     And  so  on. 

"  I  believe  that  it  is  an  absolute  mistake  to  begin  with  a 
definition  of  an  insect  such  as  is  usually  given — half  the 
words  of  which  are  utterly  without  meaning  to  the  student." 

Under  strong  pressure  at  a  later  date,  Miss  Ormerod 
delivered  in  the  same  hall  a  course  of  ten  lectures  in  five 
consecutive  days,  on  the  "  Orders  of  Insects,"  and  these 
were  reproduced  in  full  in  her  ^^  Guide  to  the  Methods  of 
Insect  Life." 

The  organisation  was  defective,  and  very  small  audiences 
assembled.  Professor  Axe  and  others  who  gave  special 
lectures  in  the  same  course  had  the  same  experience.  Only 
;fio  was  paid  to  Miss  Ormerod  for  her  share  of  the 
work,  a  sum  which  did  not  cover  outlays,  and  apart  from 
the  annoyance  of  the  bungling  the  fatigue  was  great. 

About  this  course.  Professor  Huxley  wrote  on  November 
II,  1883  : — "Dear  Miss  Ormerod, — I  am  very  glad  to  welcome 
you  as  a  colleague — and  I  wish  I  could  come  and  hear  your 
lectures,  being  particularly  ignorant  of  the  branch  of 
Entomology  you  have  made  your  own.  I  shall  be  very 
glad  if  any  of  my  students  can  find  time  to  profit  by  your 
teaching — but  I  suspect  that  their  hands  are  pretty  full.  We 
shall  be  very  glad  to  have  your  sister's  work  and  thank  her 
for  the  trouble  she  has  taken. — Ever  yours  very  truly,"  &c. 

When  a  copy  of  the  book  reached  him  in  the  following 
January  he  again  wrote  : — "  Many  thanks  for  your  ^  Guide 
to  Insect  Life.'  I  know  enough  of  your  portion  of  work  to 
be  sure  that  it  will  be  clear,  accurate,  and  useful,  and  I  hope 
that  the  public  will  show  a  due  appreciation  of  it.  With 
best  wishes,  &c. 

"T.  H.  Huxley." 

Sir  Joseph  Hooker  also  wrote  as  follows  : — 

Royal  Gardens,  Kew, 

January  11,  1884. 
Dear  Miss  Ormerod, — Pray  accept  my  best  thanks  for 
the  copy  of  your  "  Guide  to  Methods  of  Insect  Life."  I 
have  read  the  first  50  pages  at  intervals  of  my  work  with 
great  pleasure  and  interest.  I  was  an  Entomologist  before 
I  took  to  Botany,  as  was  my  father  before  me,  and  I  do 
enjoy  in  my  old  age  the  account  you  give  of  the  forgotten 


86  .  BIOGRAPHICAL  [Chap.  xii. 

habits  of  the  friends  of  my  early  youth.  I  think  it  is 
capitally  well  done  and  suited  to  its  purpose,  and  I  shall 
hope  to  interest  my  children  with  it  in  the  holidays.  With 
united  sincere  regards  to  you  both,  most  truly  yours, 

Jos.  D.  Hooker. 

In  March,  1882,  a  paper  on  ^*  Injurious  Insects"  was  read 
at  a  meeting  of  the  Richmond  Athenaeum.  The  hall  was  so 
crammed  that  the  Council  were  crushed  up  on  the  platform. 
**  At  the  close  of  the  lecture  "  (Lady  Hooker  writes)  ^^  Miss 
Lydia  Becker,  at  that  time  a  vigorous  upholder  of  ^  Woman's 
Rights,'  rose  to  speak,  and  while  praising  Miss  Ormerod's 
able  lecture,  instanced  her  work  as  '  being  a  proof  of  how 
much  a  woman  could  do  without  the  help  of  man.'  Miss 
Ormerod,  in  her  reply,  thanked  Miss  Becker,  but  begged  to 
say  that  she  had  no  right  to  the  praise  accorded  to  her  on 
the  ground  of  her  work  being  so  entirely  that  of  a  lone 
woman,  for,  she  said,  '  No  one  owes  more  to  the  help  of  man 
than  myself.  I  have  always  met  with  the  greatest  kindness 
and  most  generous  aid  from  my  friends  of  the  other  sex, 
and  without  their  constant  encouragement  my  poor  efforts 
would  have  had  no  practical  result  in  being  of  benefit  to 
my  fellow  men.'  " 

In  the  discussion  which  followed  the  lecture  Sir  Joseph 
Hooker  "referred  to  the  great  benefit  they  had  derived 
at  Kew  Gardens  from  Miss  Ormerod's  researches,  remarking 
that  to  her  and  her  sister  (Georgiana)  they  owed  some 
of  the  best  illustrations  they  had  of  insect  ravages  upon 
plants.  He  could  not  but  allude  also  to  the  elegance 
and  clearness  of  the  language  employed  by  Miss  Ormerod  in 
her  paper  as  an  illustration  that  scientific  matters  might  be 
put  in  a  clear  and  simple  form,  so  that  all  might  understand 
them.  ...  In  conclusion  he  thanked  Miss  Ormerod  and  her 
sister  for  their  services  to  science." 

About  1888  an  entomological  "At  Home"  was  given  at 
Torrington  House,  St.  Albans,  when  some  sixty  people 
assembled  in  the  drawing-room  and  listened  to  a  most 
interesting  dissertation  on  the  "  Hessian  Fly,"  given  by  the 
hostess  in  a  friendly  and  informal  conversational  manner. 

The  Farmers'  Club  lecture  in  1889  was  felt  by  Miss 
Ormerod  to  be  the  most  important  and  most  gratifying  of  all 
similar  public  appearances.  She  prepared  it  with  infinite 
care  and,  as  the  time  fixed  for  its  delivery  approached,  the 
state  of  nervous  tension  was  great.  Leading  agriculturists 
were  present,  and  a  number  of  ladies  came  to  make  inquiries 


Chap,  xii.]        SKETCH    BY  THE   EDITOR  87 

about  all  sorts  of  things,  but  probably  the  lecturer  would 
have  been  equally  well  pleased  had  none  of  her  own  sex 
put  in  an  appearance. 

In  1882  Miss  Ormerod  was  invited  by  the  Lords  of  the 
Committee  of  Council  on  Education  to  become  a  member 
of  a  committee  to  advise  in  the  improvement  of  the  collec- 
tions relating  to  Economic  Entomology  in  the  South 
Kensington  and  Bethnal  Green  Museums.  The  other 
members  of  committee  were  Professor  Huxley,  Mr.  W. 
Thisleton  Dyer,  Professor  J.  O.  Westwood,  Mr.  F.  Orpen 
Bower,  Professor  Wrightson,  and  Mr.  Moore — Colonel 
Donnelly  and  Sir  Philip  Cunliffe  Owen  being  present 
officially.  After  serious  consideration  and  a  good  deal  of 
pressure  from  influential  quarters,  Miss  Ormerod  accepted 
the  invitation  and  was  a  most  useful  member  of  committee 
till  her  withdrawal  from  it  in  April,  1886.  She  continued, 
however,  to  assist  the  supervision  of  the  work,  which 
went  on  for  some  time  after.  At  the  first  meeting  she  was 
asked  to  prepare  a  scheme  for  a  series  of  illustrations  of 
Economic  Entomology,  and  her  suggestion  of  classifying 
injurious  insects  by  the  name  of  leading  plant  affected,  and 
not  by  the  Natural  Orders  of  the  creatures,  was  accepted. 
A  collection  of  cases  containing  natural  specimens  in  all 
stages  of  development,  as  well  as  accurate  drawings  of  them, 
though  never  completed,  was  made,  at  first  mainly  under 
Professor  Westwood's  direction,  but  later  on,  under  Miss 
Ormerod's  supervision.  Many  of  the  specimens  were  taken 
from  Mr.  Andrew  Murray's  earlier  contributions. 

The  collection  was  in  1885  removed  from  Bethnal  Green 
to  the  Western  Exhibition  Galleries,  South  Kensington 
Museum.  The  value  of  Miss  Ormerod's  services  and  the 
esteem  in  which  she  was  personally  held  by  her  associates 
in  connection  with  the  work  of  the  committee,  may  be 
gathered  from  the  subjoined  letter  sent  to  her  by  Professor 
Huxley. 

March  12,  1883. 

Dear  Miss  Ormerod,— Many  thanks  for  the  trouble  you 
have  taken.  Your  suggestion  about  utilising  the  figures 
which  are  not  specially  wanted  for  our  purpose,  for  schools, 
seems  to  me  excellent,  and  I  hope  you  will  bring  it  forward 
at  our  next  meeting. 

I  hope  our  first  discussion  has  convinced  you  that  we 
want  nothing  but  to  achieve  something  useful.  And  as  I 
have  at  any  rate  learned  how  to  recognise  practical  know- 


88  BIOGRAPHICAL  [Chap.  xii. 

ledge  and  common  sense,  when  I  meet  with  them  (they  are 
not  so  common  as  people  imagine)  you  will  find  me  always 
ready  to  do  my  best  to  aid  in  carrying  out  your  views. 
You  really  know  more  about  the  business  than  all  the  rest 
of  us  put  together.  Yours  very  truly, 

T.  H.  Huxley. 

While  Miss  Ormerod  was  associated  with  the  Bethnal 
Green  Museum  she  was  asked  to  look  at  the  proofs  of  a 
series  of  insect  diagrams  illustrating  '^Gardeners'  Friends 
and  Foes "  being  prepared  for  publication  by  the  Science 
and  Art  Department.  She  found  that  an  official  of  the 
Museum  had  been  guilty  of  wholesale  plagiarism,  both 
in  the  coloured  figures  and  the  descriptive  letterpress,  and 
moreover  that  a  number  of  figures  of  a  popular  kind  had 
been  introduced  which  were  not  drawn  with  scientific  ac- 
curacy, that  she  felt  conscientiously  impelled  to  report  the 
irregularities  and  deficiencies  to  the  authorities.  The 
results  were  that  the  diagrams  were  withdrawn  (only  a  few 
sets  having  been  presented  for  private  use  to  certain 
fortunate  individuals) ;  and  the  removal  of  the  official  from 
the  position  of  trust  became  a  wholesome  lesson  to  those 
who  lightly  make  use  without  acknowledgment  of  the 
work  of  others. 

At  a  later  date  she  arranged  the  descriptive  matter  of  a 
series  of  beautiful  insect  diagrams,  the  originals  of  which 
were  drawn  and  coloured  by  her  sister,  Georgiana,  for  the 
Royal  Agricultural  Society,  and  referred  to  in  the  appended 
facsimile  page  of  a  letter  addressed  to  the  present  writer, 
and  again  at  p.  210  of  her  correspondence. 

To  Miss  Anne  Hartwell,  Miss  Ormerod's  private  secre- 
tary and  confidential  companion,  I  am  indebted  for  many 
of  the  following  incidents  in  the  home  life.  The  two  sisters, 
though  they  were  never  robust,  enjoyed  comparatively  good 
health,  when  Miss  Hartwell,  in  May,  1888,  went  to  reside 
with  them,  and  were  at  all  times  very  busy.  Miss  Ormerod 
(Georgiana)  usually  sat  in  the  dining-room  working  at  her 
diagrams  and  Miss  Eleanor  in  the  study.  They  generally 
worked  all  the  morning,  and  in  the  afternoon  they  would 


An  excellent  specimen  of  Miss  Ormerod's  clear  and  charac- 
teristic WRITING  IN  WHICH  SHE  CONDUCTED  HER  VOLUMINOUS  CORRE- 
SPONDENCE, PAGE  89  OPPOSITE. 


90  BIOGRAPHICAL  [Chap.  xii. 

walk  out  together,  take  a  drive,  or  pay  calls.  They  fre- 
quently had  visitors  for  a  few  days,  and  nephews  and  nieces 
would  come  and  go — which  was  always  a  pleasure  to  them. 
They  were  devoted  to  each  other  and  spent  much  time 
together.  Miss  Georgiana's  death,  on  August  19,  1896,  was 
a  sad  blow  to  Miss  Eleanor,  who  missed  her  sister's  com- 
panionship and  sympathy  dreadfully.  To  a  casual  observer 
time  seemed  to  heal  her  wounded  feelings  and  she  appeared 
cheerful  and  bright,  but  in  reality  she  was  never  again  quite 
the  same  person — they  had  been  such  lifelong  friends  and 
companions. 

In  a  letter  to  the  Rev.  C.  J.  Bethune  she  wrote  on 
October  12,  1896  : — 

'^  I  thank  you  gratefully  for  your  kind  comforting  letter ; 
believe  me  such  words  as  yours  are  a  great  consolation 
and  support  to  me,  for  I  do  miss  my  dear  sister  exceed- 
ingly. 

"  For  her  I  fully  hope  that  she  is  safe,  and  happy,  and  I 
love  to  think  of  her  as  without  fears  or  doubts  serving  the 
Lord  she  so  humbly  trusted — but  we  were  so  completely 
one  that  I  scarcely  feel  the  same  person  without  her.  It  was 
not  only  our  sisterly  affection  and  coUeagueship,  but  she 
had  such  a  good  judgment  that  I  am  constantly  longing  for 
her  sound  sense  to  help  me.  There  is  no  use  in  idle  grief, 
and  I  am  fairly  well  again.  I  have  not  at  all  put  aside 
work  through  all  my  sorrow,  for  I  felt  this  would  answer  no 
good  purpose,  and  now  I  am  working  on  my  next  Annual 
Report  and  am  arranging  to  have  a  good  portrait  of  her  as 
a  frontispiece  (plate  xxvii.).  I  think  she  would  like  it,  and 
I  am  sure  she  would  have  been  deeply  grateful  for  the  kind 
respect  paid  by  the  good  friends  whose  friendship  she  so 
exceedingly  valued.  I  scarcely  know  how  to  write  about 
it — there  is  so  much  I  should  like  to  say.  Perhaps  I  had 
better  not  write  more,  but  indeed  I  value  your  beautiful 
words  of  comfort  which  I  have  repeatedly  read." 

A  touchingly  sympathetic  notice  of  the  death  appeared 
in  Miss  Ormerod's  Annual  Report  for  1896. 

Miss  Ormerod  rose  early,  breakfasted  at  eight  o'clock, 
and  then  read  the  ^^  Times."  On  getting  to  work  she  made 
a  special  point  of  replying  to  inquiries  first,  saying  it  served 
no  good  purpose  to  keep  people  waiting  for  an  answer  ;  and, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  delay  or  hesitation  found  no  place  in 
any  of  her  actions.  Frequently  there  were  specimens  to 
examine  and  report  upon,  and  probably  to  put  aside  in  a 


Chap,  xil]         SKETCH    BY  THE   EDITOR  91 

place  of  safety  to  permit  of  maturation  or  further  develop- 
ment and  to  undergo  subsequent  examination. 

After  the  entomological  work  was  finished — work  which 
was  a  real  pleasure,  but  proved  a  severe  strain  as  the  Annual 
Report  was  taking  form — her  personal  correspondence  was 
attended  to.  She  wrote  with  great  facility  and  with  extra- 
ordinary rapidity  and  accuracy.  She  had  many  colonial 
and  continental  correspondents  who  held  standing  invita- 
tions to  pay  her  visits,  when  in  this  country.  Many  came, 
and  graciously  she  received  them,  and  courteously  and 
royally  she  entertained  them  with  much  pleasure  to  herself. 
None  so  honoured  can  ever  forget  the  cordiality  of  the 
breezy  welcome  which,  accompanied  by  her  hearty  and 
genuinely  natural  and  friendly  laugh,  were  merely  har- 
bingers of  the  intellectual  treat  and  the  other  good  things 
that  were  in  store  for  them. 

Among  her  most  intimate  immediate  friends  were  Lord  ^ 
and  Lady  Grimthorpe,  the  Bishop  of  St.  Albans  (Dr. 
Festing)  and  his  sister,  the  Dean  (Walter  John  Lawrence, 
M.A.),  General  and  Mrs.  Bigge,  Colonel  and  Miss  Cartwright, 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Norman,  and  Dr.  Lipscomb  and  Miss  Lips- 
comb. She  was  always  pleased  to  see  friends  who  called, 
and  she  was  very  witty  and  cheerful  with  them.  It  was  not 
at  all  necessary  that  they  should  be  scientific.  One  of  the 
httle  group  mentioned,  simply  and  perhaps  too  modestly 
explains,  "  I  always  think  that  when  Miss  Ormerod  sent  for 
me,  she  descended  to  my  level,  and  our  conversation  was 
generally  on  the  most  homely  subjects.  She  would  be 
most  interested  in  the  little  events  of  our  everyday  life  and 
thoroughly  enter  into  our  pleasures  and  enjoyments." 

The  lively  sense  of  humour  which  has  already  been  men- 
tioned as  a  family  characteristic  remained  with  her  through- 
out life.  The  following  little  anecdote  told  by  Mrs.  Evans 
of  Rowancroft,  Dorking,  is  also  illustrative  of  the  personal 
coolness  and  power  of  action  in  times  of  difficulty  which 
were  conspicuous  among  Miss  Ormerod's  attributes,  and  it 
shows  also  ''  the  quietly  determined  manner  in  which  she 
did  some  things." 

*^  My  poor  little  story  was  told  to  me  a  good  many  years 
ago.  My  aunt  was  lunching  with  some  friends,  and  the 
peace  of  the  entertainment  was  suddenly  disturbed  by  the 

»  Edmund  Beckett,  K.C.,  LL.D.,  J. P.,  ist  Baron  (1886),  Chancellor 
and  Vicar-General  of  York,  1 877-1900.  The  work  of  the  restoration 
of  St.  Albans  Abbey  was  carried  out  under  his  direction.     (See  p.  296.) 


92  BIOGRAPHICAL  [Chap.  xii. 

arrival  of  a  large  and  lively  hornet.  No  one  else  ventured 
to  interfere  with  the  enemy,  but  Miss  Ormerod  waited  quietly 
till  the  insect  came  close  to  her,  caught  it  in  her  hand,  and 
forthwith  deposited  it  in  one  of  the  little  chip  boxes  which 
she  generally  carried  in  her  pockets.  I  leave  you  to  imagine 
the  astonishment  and  admiration  of  the  other  guests,  and 
the  quiet  chuckle  with  which  my  aunt  wound  up  her  story 
with  the  remark,  ^  Of  course  I  knew  it  was  a  "  drone,"  by 
the  length  of  the  antennae.' " 

Miss  Ormerod  was  not  the  least  nervous  in  the  sense  of 
being  afraid.  When  just  a  girl  living  at  Sedbury  she 
became  the  centre  of  admiration  of  the  workmen  on  her 
father's  estate  by  fearlessly  seizing  a  farmyard  dog  by  the 
back  of  the  neck  and  hauling  him  off  her  own  dog,  who 
had  been  rudely  assaulted.  Great  was  the  applause  of 
"  Miss  Eleanor's  sperrit." 

Another  incident  with  a  dog  of  a  much  more  dangerous 
character  is  best  given  in  her  own  words  :  ^^  I  only  remember 
one  instance  of  rabies.  The  animal  attacked  was  one  of 
two  beautiful  Clumber  spaniels  which  had  been  left  one  day 
at  our  house  with  a  message  that  the  sender,  a  friend  of  my 
•  brother,  desired  him  to  select  one  of  them,  and  accept  it  as 
a  gift.  The  two  pretty  creatures,  named  Caesar  and  Pompey, 
were  introduced  into  our  establishment,  and  one  of  them — 
Caesar — became  a  great  favourite  with  my  father.  How 
long  it  was  after  their  arrival  I  do  not  remember,  but  one  day 
Caesar  vanished,  and  in  the  course  of  the  afternoon,  although 
he  was  not  one  of  the  house  dogs,  he  came  to  me  as  I  was 
standing  in  the  front  hall.  To  my  astonishment  when  I 
noticed  him  as  usual,  he  gave  a  kind  of  scream,  or  extraor- 
dinary howl,  such  as  I  had  never  heard  before,  and  I  saw 
that  the  expression  of  his  eyes  was  wild  and  distressed  to  an 
entirely  unnatural  degree.  The  strange  scream  made  me  sus- 
pect what  might  be  wrong,  and  I  called  one  of  the  head  men. 
We  took  the  dog,  who  was  perfectly  gentle,  into  the  butler's 
pantry  and  shut  the  door  so  that  he  might  not  escape, 
whilst  we  tried  to  find  out  what  was  amiss.  I  did  not  much 
like  the  business,  but  it  happened  I  was  the  only  one  at 
home,  excepting  a  lady  relation,  who,  thinking  *'  discretion 
the  better  part  of  valour,"  mounted  herself  pro  tern,  out  of 
harm's  way,  on  the  top  of  a  very  large  stone  table,  and 
awaited  results  in  safety.  I  knew  that  offering  water  was  a 
very  partial  test,  but  I  had  some  poured  out.  The  effect 
was  instantaneous.  The  moment  the  poor  dog  heard  the 
sound  he  almost  flew  to  me,  as  if  for  protection,  and  tried  to 


PLATE      XXr. 


Ap  Adam  Oak,  Sedbury  Park. 


llEDGEiioti  Oak,  Skdbury  Park. 


To  face  p.  92. 


Char  xii.]        SKETCH    BY  THE   EDITOR  93 

wrap  his  head  in  my  dress  so  as  to  exclude  the  sound, 
calling  out  as  if  in  great  trouble.  I  had  no  right  to  have 
my  father's  favourite  dog  destroyed  on  a  suspicion  in  his 
temporary  absence,  and  the  dog  so  far  was  not  violent ;  it 
appeared  to  me  that  the  only  reasonable  course  to  adopt 
was  to  have  him  chained  securely  and  led  away  to  an  empty 
stable,  where  he  was  fastened  to  a  pole  and  the  door  shut. 
By  this  course  no  harm  could  happen,  except  in  prolonging 
the  poor  creature's  sufferings.  These,  however,  though 
increasingly  violent,  were  not  endured  for  very  long.  By 
the  time  my  father  returned,  in  about  an  hour,  the  dog  was 
tearing  the  woodwork  all  around  him  to  pieces.  He  was 
at  once  destroyed,  the  attack  being  pronounced,  by  those 
better  versed  in  the  matter  than  myself,  undoubtedly  a  case 
of  rabies." 

Miss  Ormerod's  brother.  Dr.  E.  L.  Ormerod,  of  Brighton, 
author  of  ^'British  Social  Wasps,"  testified  to  the  courage 
and  skill  with  which  she  assisted  him  in  taking  the  hanging 
wasps'  nests  from  trees.  The  "  Ap  Adam"  oak  shown  in  plate 
XXI.  which  she  climbed  after  a  hornet's  nest  by  means  of  the 
library  folding  ladder,  was  one  of  the  very  ancient  hollow 
oaks  in  Sedbury  Park,  about  one-third  of  a  mile  from  the 
house.  She  had  a  sick  headache  next  day  about  which  her 
brother  John  made  the  sympathetic  (?)  remark,  ^' If  young 
ladies  will  play  at  lamplighters  they  must  take  the  conse- 
quences ! "  The  Hedgehog  oak,  at  the  root  of  which  in 
plate  XXI.  Miss  Ormerod  is  seen  sitting  in  rather  an  uncom- 
fortable position,  was  another  hollow  remnant  of  the  primeval 
forest.  She  had  remarked  that  she  thought  she  was  sitting 
on  a  wasps'  nest  when  Waring,  her  second  brother,  promptly 
admonished  her  in  the  interests  of  the  safety  of  the  party 
to  '^  sit  tight  "  !  The  two  hollow  shells  of  what  must  have 
been  at  one  time  splendid  timber  trees,  were  historically 
interesting,  having  been  boundary  marks  of  the  country 
referred  to  in  the  time  of  Edward  III.  Both  trees  have 
been  cleared  away  and  the  ancient  oak  now  known  as  that 
of  ^'  Ap  Adam  "  stands  only  a  few  hundred  yards  from  the 
original  tree,  within  the  moat  which  formerly  surrounded 
old  Badam's  Court.  There  are  several  other  very  ancient 
oaks  in  the  park.  Two  on  the  left  of  the  carriage  drive, 
going  in  the  direction  of  the  mansion  house,  were  christened 
"  Darby  and  Joan  "  by  Miss  Ormerod. 

On  one  occasion  the  eldest  sister,  Mary,  had  the  mis- 
fortune to  run  a  crochet  hook  through  her  hand.      The 


94  BIOGRAPHICAL  [Chap.  xii. 

mother  fainted  away.  Miss  G.  S.  Ormerod,  who  suppUed 
this  information,  concludes,  "  My  Aunt  Eleanor  fetched  her 
forceps,  nipped  off  the  hook  and  drew  out  the  stem  without 
waiting  for  the  doctor's  arrival,  showing  not  only  her 
courage  but  her  presence  of  mind."  The  same  authority 
goes  on  to  say  : — 

"She  was  very  fond  of  children  and  young  people. 
When  staying  at  Sedbury,  we  always  enjoyed  our  walks 
with  her.  She  made  everything  interesting.  She  taught 
me  a  great  deal  about  insects,  helped  me  to  begin  a 
collection  of  butterflies,  &c.,  showing  me  how  to  destroy 
them  mercifully  and  how  to  set  them  out  properly.  I 
remember  stuffing  a  splendid  dragon-fly  under  her  super- 
intendence. 

"  Fully  occupied  as  her  life  was  up  to  the  time  of  her  last 
illness,  yet  she  was  always  full  of  sympathy  and  interest  for 
her  poorer  neighbours,  always  ready  to  assist  in  any  good 
work  that  came  before  her. 

"  You  may  like  to  hear  how  my  aunt  was  beloved  by  the 
servants  for  her  practical  kindness  and  for  the  keen  interest 
she  took  in  all  outdoor  surroundings.  Any  curiosity  dis- 
covered by  them,  whether  animal  or  vegetable,  was  always 
carefully  brought  in  for  her  inspection.  Many  were  the 
snakes,  birds,  nests,  insects,  fungi,  &c.,  handed  to  her, 
especially  at  the  time  when  she  did  so  much  modeUing." 

She  maintained  throughout  a  practical  interest  in  the 
survivors  of  her  mother's  old  servants,  and  she  extended 
her  kindness  and  thoughtfulness  to  those  of  her  own 
household.  Her  strong  loyalty  was  curiously  instanced  on 
one  of  these  occasions,  on  the  King's  accession  to  the 
throne,  when  she  summoned  all  her  household,  including 
outdoor  servants,  and  produced  some  rare  old  white  port  in 
which  they  drank  the  King's  health.  She  subscribed  liberally 
to  St.  Albans'  charities  and  other  public  objects  in  the 
Abbey  parish  in  which  she  lived,  as  well  as  in  St.  Michael's, 
where  she  attended  church.  Dr.  Lipscomb  gives,  in  a  few 
words,  "  An  instance  of  her  great  generosity,  so  well 
known  to  all  who  were  intimate  with  her,  though  she  ever 
did  such  deeds  by  stealth  and  blushed  to  find  them  fame." 
He  goes  on  :  "I  may  mention  a  day  she  asked  me  to  see 
her.  Being  rather  late  I  apologised,  telling  her  that  the 
annual  meeting  of  the  governors  of  our  local  hospital 
detained  me.  She  said  she  hoped  we  had  had  a  successful 
meeting,  and  on  my  saying  ^  Yes,  with  the  exception  that 
the  accounts  showed  a  deficit  of  some  thirty  odd  pounds,' 


Char  xil]        SKETCH    BY  THE   EDITOR  95 

she  immediately  produced  her  cheque  book  and  gave  me  a 
cheque  for  the  amount."  She  also  extended  personal 
sympathy  and  practical  help  to  many  of  her  poor  neighbours 
by  whom  she  was  loved  and  esteemed. 

She  never  lost  taste  for  the  pastime  of  modelling  in  plaster 
of  Paris,  and  at  leisure  moments,  when  unable  to  go  out  of 
doors,  she  would  occupy  spare  time  in  this  way.  She 
modelled  some  beautiful  specimens  of  common  fruits  and 
made  the  cast  of  her  own  hand.  In  the  evening,  when  tired 
of  writing,  she  would  read  or  crochet.  Her  great  skill  in 
what  is  generally  regarded  as  exclusively  woman's  work  is 
independently  testified  to  by  Miss  Emma  Swan,  niece  of 
Professor  Westwood,  who  is  so  well  able  to  speak  with 
authority,  in  the  following  words  :  "  What  particularly 
struck  me  as  a  young  girl  at  the  time  I  visited  her  was  the 
very  beautiful  needlework  she  found  time  to  do,  and 
pleasure  in  doing.  Whatever  she  did,  she  seemed  to  do 
well !  "  From  the  same  source  we  learn  that  ''  she  sang 
and  played  the  piano  very  well  indeed."  She  also  composed 
music  with  facility  and  might  have  developed  musical 
tastes,  but  for  the  overpowering  love  of  science  which  was 
the  absorbing  interest  of  her  life.^ 

We  have  it  on  excellent  authority  that  the  very  greatest 
pleasure  of  all  her  public  recognitions  was  experienced  on 
April  14,  1900,  in  the  McEwan  Hall,  Edinburgh,  when  the 
LL.D.  of  the  University  was  conferred  upon  her  in  com- 
pany with  a  group  of  distinguished  recipients  of  that 
honour  2  before  an  assemblage  of  about  3,000  people.     The 

'  In  addition  to  the  individual  appreciation  of  her  correspondents 
and  fellow-workers,  Miss  Ormerod's  position  in  the  world  of  science 
was  recognised  by  scientific  and  educational  bodies  in  a  manner  which 
was  most  gratifying  to  her.  She  was  Honorary  Doctor  of  Laws  of  the 
University  of  Edinburgh  ;  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Meteorological  Society, 
London ;  (for  ten  years)  Consulting  Entomologist  to  the  Royal  Agri- 
cultural Society  of  England  ;  (for  three  years)  Examiner  in  Agricultural 
Entomology  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh  (1896-8) ;  Fellow  of  the 
Entomological  Society,  London;  Hon.  Fellow  of  the  Entomological 
Society,  Stockholm ;  Member  of  the  Entomological  Society,  Washing- 
ton, U.S.A. ;  Member  of  the  Association  of  official  Economic  Entomolo- 
gists, Washington,  U.S.A. ;  Hon.  Member  of  the  London  Farmers' 
Club  ;  Honorary  and  Corresponding  Member  of  the  Royal  Agricultural 
and  Horticultural  Society  of  South  Australia  ;  Hon.  Member  of  the 
Entomological  Society  of  Ontario,  and  Corresponding  Member  of 
the  Field  Naturalists'  Club  of  Ontario,  Canada ;  and  Member  of  the 
Eastern  Province  Naturalists'  Society,  Cape  Colony. 

="  List  of  the  Hon.  Graduates  of  1900,  given  in  the  alphabetical  order 
in  which  they  graduated  : — (i)  Horatio  Robert  Forbes  Brown,  J. P., 


96  BIOGRAPHICAL  [Chap.  xil. 

trials  of  the  occasion,  which  are  described  in  her  letters, 
were  greatly  lessened  by  the  courtesy  and  kindness  and 
whispered  words  of  encouragement  of  his  Excellency, 
the  American  Ambassador,  who  was  placed  beside  her 
during  the  ceremonial,  and  preceded  her  in  undergoing 
the  ordeal  of  capping.  In  presenting  her  to  the  Vice- 
Chancellor  (Principal  Sir  Wm.  Muir)  the  Dean  of  the  Faculty 
of  Law  (Sir  Ludovic  Grant)  said,  with  his  usual  elo- 
quence : — 

^^  A  duty  now  devolves  upon  you,  sir,  which  has  devolved 
upon  none  of  your  predecessors,  and  of  which  the  per- 
formance will  render  the  present  occasion  memorable  in 
the  annals  of  the  University.  Our  roll  of  Hon.  Graduates 
in  Law  contains  the  names  of  many  illustrious  men,  but 
you  will  search  it  in  vain  for  the  name  of  a  woman.  To- 
day, however,  a  new  roll  is  to  be  opened — a  roll  of 
illustrious  women  ;  and  it  is  matter  for  congratulation  that 
this  roll  should  begin  with  a  name  so  honoured  as  that  of 
Miss  Ormerod. 

"  The  pre-eminent  position  which  Miss  Ormerod  holds  in 
the  world  of  science  is  the  reward  of  patient  study  and 
unwearying  observation.  Her  investigations  have  been 
chiefly  directed  towards  the  discovery  of  methods  for  the 
prevention  of  the  ravages  of  those  insects  which  are  injurious 
to  orchard,  field,  and  forest.  Her  labours  have  been 
crowned  with  such  success,  that  she  is  entitled  to  be  hailed 
as  the  protectress  of  agriculture  and  the  fruits  of  the  earth — 
a  beneficent  Demeter  of  the  nineteenth  century.  It  would 
take  long  to  enumerate  her  contributions  to  Entomological 
and  Phenological  literature,  but  I  may  select  for  mention 
the  valuable  series  of  reports  extending  over  twenty  years, 
the  preparation  of  which  involved  correspondence  with  all 
parts  of  the  world.  Remarkable,  too,  is  the  list  of  the 
honours  which  she  has  received.  She  was  the  first  lady 
to  be  admitted  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Meteorological  Society, 
and  she  has  been  awarded  the  Silver  Medal  of  the  ^  Societe 
Nationale  d'Acclimatation '  of  France.   To  these  distinctions 

Editor  of  the  Calendars  of  State  Papers  (Venetian)  for  the  PubHc  Record 
Office.  (2)  His  Excellency  the  Hon.  Joseph  Hodges  Choate,  Ambassador 
for  the  United  States  of  America,  London.  (3)  Miss  Eleanor  A. 
Ormerod,  F.R.Met.Soc,  F.E.S.  (4)  C.  D.  F.  Phillips,  M.D.,  LL.D. 
(5)  The  Rev.  Thomas  Smith,  M.A.,  D.D.,  lately  Professor  of  Evange- 
listic Theology  in  the  Free  Church  College,  Edinburgh.  (6)  William 
Ritchie  Sorley,  M.A.,  Regius  Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy,  University 
of  Aberdeen.  (7)  Anderson  Stuart,  M.D.,  Professor  of  Physiology  in  the 
University  of  Sydney. 


Chap,  xil]        SKETCH    BY  THE   EDITOR  97 

the  University  of  Edinburgh,  sensible  of  her  conspicuous 
services,  and  not  unmindful  of  her  generous  benefactions, 
now  adds  its  Doctorate  in  Laws." 

The  honour  referred  to,  conferred  by  our  cultured 
neighbours  across  the  channel,  was  publicly  announced  in 
the  press  in  the  following  words  : — 

"At  the  Annual  Meeting  on  the  25th  of  June,  1891,  of  the 
Societe  Nationale  d'Acclimatation  de  France,  M.  Le  Myre  de 
Vilers,  president,  in  the  chair,  the  large  silver  medal  of  the 
Society,  bearing  the  portrait  of  Geoffrey  Saint-Hilaire,  was 
decreed  to  Miss  Eleanor  A.  Ormerod,  of  St.  Albans, 
England,  for  her  work  in  Economic  or  Applied  Ento- 
mology." 

To  a  confidential  correspondent  she  wrote,  "  You  will 
believe  that  this  pleases  me  very  much." 

Plate  XXII.  shows  this  medal  with  three  other  silver  and 
two  gold  medals  that  were  presented  to  Miss  Ormerod 
between  the  years  1870  and  1900  by  home  and  foreign 
institutions. 

Miss  Ormerod  preserved  very  few  letters  except  those 
necessary  for  scientific  or  business  purposes,  and  these  she 
classified  and  fastened  into  books  for  convenience  of  re- 
ference. Nothing  else,  and  especially  nothing  which  if 
returned  to  the  writer,  would  hereafter  lead  to  unpleasant- 
ness, escaped  ordeal  of  fire.  After  keeping  letters  on  general 
subjects  for  a  few  days,  she  would  tear  them  up.  The 
result  is  that,  of  the  mass  of  interesting  contributions  on 
many  subjects,  which  poured  in  to  the  oracle,  first  of 
Isleworth  and  latterly  of  St.  Albans,  from  all  sorts  and 
conditions  of  men  and  women,  the  few  sample  letters 
written  by  prominent  public  men  and  reproduced  in  these 
pages,  are  almost  all  that  remain.  To  some  of  her  relatives 
she  WTote  very  amusing  letters,  but — no  doubt  inspired  by  the 
desire  to  avoid  all  possible  danger  of  hurting  the  feelings 
of  people  referred  to — she  exacted  the  promise  that  they 
should  not  be  preserved. 


Key  to  Medals  Presented  to  Miss  Ormerod  and  Shown 
ON  Plate  xxil,  Opposite. 


Royal  Horticultural  Society, 

Victoria  Medal  of  Honour, 

1900. 

(Gold  Medal.) 

Royal  Horticultural  Society. 

For  Collection  of  Economic 

Entomology. 

1870. 

(Silver  Medal.) 

Societe  Nationale  d'Acclimatation 

de  France. 

Entomologie  Appliquee. 

1899. 

(Silver  Medal.) 


University  of  Moscow,  1872 

Emperor  Peter  I.,  30th  May, 

1672. 

Emperor  Alexander  H,,  30th  May, 

1872. 

(Gold  Medal.) 

International  Health  Exhibition, 

London,  1884. 

(Silver  Medal.) 

Moscow  Polytechnic  Exhibition, 

1872. 

(Silver  Medal.) 


PLATE      XXII. 


Miss  Ormerod's  Medals,  received  between  1870  and  1900,  as  recognition  by 
Scientific  Bodies  of  her  Scientific  Work. 

{2rp.  06,  304.)  To  face  p.  9 


CHAPTER   XIII 

LETTERS  TO   COLONEL  COUSSMAKER  AND   MR.   ROBERT 
SERVICE 

Surface  Caterpillars— Leopard  and  Puss  Moths — "  Hill-Grubs  "  of  the  Antler 

Moth. 

The  letters  in  this  the  first  chapter  of  correspondence 
(dealing  with  a  number  of  moths,  the  caterpillars  of  which 
are  destructive  to  vegetation),  were  written  while  Miss 
Ormerod  was  resident  at  Isleworth,  and  after  she  had 
issued  seven  of  her  Annual  Reports.  Apart  from  the 
Entomology  discussed,  the  letters  show  how  ready  she 
was  to  recognise  and  to  commend  the  meritorious  scien- 
tific work  of  others. 

To  Colonel  Coiissmaker,  Westwood,  near  Guildford. 

DuNSTER  Lodge,  Spring  Grove,  Isleworth, 

August  I,  1885. 
Dear  Sir, — Perhaps  the   best  way  I  can  reply  to  your 
inquiry  about  the  coloured  sheets  is  to  enclose  the  short 
description,  on  the  wrapper  of  one  of  my  reports.^ 

I  should  mention,  though,  that  they  are  the  property  of  the 
Royal  Agricultural  Society  ;  I  only  drew  them.     The  insects 

'  "  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England. 

"  Coloured  Diagrams  of  Insects  Injurious  to  Farm  Crops,  suitable  for 
Elementary  Schools.  Prepared  by  Miss  E.  A.  Ormerod,  F.R.Met.Soc, 
Hon.  Consulting  Entomologist  to  the  Society.  A  series  of  Six  Diagrams, 
viz. :  Large  White  Cabbage  Butterfly ;  Turnip  Fly  or  Flea  Beetle  ; 
Beet  Fly;  Wirevvorm  and  Chck  Beetle  ;  Hop  Aphis  or  Green  Fly,  with 
Ladybird  ;  Daddy  Longlegs  or  Crane  Fly.  In  various  stages,  with 
methods  of  prevention.  On  paper,  5s. ;  for  each  Diagram,  is.  Mounted 
on  linen  and  varnished,  8s.  ;  for  each  Diagram,  is.  6d.  Procurable  from 
the  Secretary." 

99 


loo   LETTERS  TO  COLONEL  COUSSMAKER    [Chap.  xni. 

are  drawn  greatly  magnified,  with  a  view  to  hanging  the 
sheets  on  walls  of  schools.  The  history,  and  the  simplest 
means  of  prevention  are  given  in  the  very  plainest  words 
I  could  find. 

Have  you  my  current  report  ?  It  contains  a  good 
deal  on  that  great  pest  the  Ox  warble  fly  (fig.  5) — con- 
tributed by  practical  men — cattle  owners,  veterinary  observers 
and  the  like.  I  would,  with  the  greatest  pleasure,  ask  your 
acceptance  of  a  copy  if  you  would  permit  me  to  do  so. 
If  you  have  studied  its  habits  in  India,  I  should  greatly  like 
to  be  in  communication  with  you  on  the  subject.  The 
Colonial  Company  procured  me  a  few  estimates  of  damage 
to  hides — which  were  of  much  service  as  showing  com- 
parative amount  of  injury  in  different  parts  of  the  globe, 
but  I  much  want  to  find  whether  in  India  the  larva  is 
found  to  penetrate  below  the  subcutaneous  tissue  into  the 
flesh.  I  am  aware  from  one  of  my  contributors  connected 
with  inspecting  army  supplies  in  India,  that  at  one  time 
meat  for  the  troops  was  apt  to  be  so  damaged  from  what 
he  considered  to  be  this  attack,  that  it  was  to  some  extent 
useless.  The  locality  was  not  far  from  Kurrachee.  If  you, 
as  a  student  of  insect  life,  could  give  me  any  information  on 
this  point,  I  should  be  thankful  for  the  addition  to  the  notes 
I  am  still  collecting. 

August  4,  1885. 

Many  thanks  to  you  for  so  kindly  taking  the  trouble  to 
write  about  the  injury  to  flesh  possibly  caused  by  the 
Warble  maggot ;  it  would  be  of  great  service  to  know  about 
it.  Doubtless  your  care  of  your  cattle  had  a  great  deal  to 
do  with  their  being  free  from  injury — if  we  could  but  get 
even  the  moderate  amount  of  care  applied  which  is  needed 
to  put  on  a  dressing  when  attack  is  seen  it  would  make 
an  enormous  difference. 

The  Dart  or  Turnip  moth  caterpillar  is  doing  damage 
now — and  I  do  not  believe  there  is  a  better  remedy  than 
scraping  out  the  grubs,  but  this  is  very  troublesome  till 
they  are  larger.  I  see  in  a  report  on  the  "  Cutworms,"  as 
they  call  these  creatures  in  the  U.S.A.,  that  there  is  very 
much  less  injury  from  them  on  ground  which  has  been 
well  salted.  It  is  thought  that  the  salt  drawn  up  into  the 
plant  makes  it  distasteful  to  the  caterpillars.  I  do  not 
know  how  this  may  be,  but  in  a  district  of  the  Eastern 
Counties  reported  from  last  year — where  previously  they 
had  been  quite  set  against  anything  ^^  artificial  " — they  were 
finding  th^  turnips  on  salted  lands  answered  very  much  the 


i885.] 


SURFACE   CATERPILLARS 


lOI 


best.  I  should  much  Hke  to  try  the  effect  of  watering  with 
salt  and  water,  at  a  safe  strength,  but  from  my  own  garden 
being  so  perpetually  used  for  trial  ground  it  is  getting  free 
of  regular  pests.  I  have  found  watering  with  soft  soap  and 
a  little  mineral  oil  (pp.  66-67,  eighth  report,  1884),  act  well 
on  these  caterpillars.  The  application  appeared  to  paralyse 
the  creature  so  that  it  could  not  get  away  from  the  poison- 
ous effects  of  the  mixture,  which  is  a  very  important  point. 


(rt)  I,  Turnip  moth  ;  2,  caterpillar. 


(b)  I,  Heart-and-dart  moth  ;  2,  caterpillar  ;  3,  chrysalis  in  earth-cell. 

FIG.  I. — SURFACE  CATERPILLARS  :  OF  THE  TURNIP  OR  DART  MOTH,  AGROTIS 
SEGETUM,  OCHSENHEIMER,  AND  OF  THE  HP:ART-AND-DART  MOTH, 
AGROTIS  EXCLAMATIONIS,    LINN. 


I  found  this  mixture  act  well  on  Cabbage  green  fly,  and 
if  you  should  try  it  I  shall  be  very  much  obliged  for  anj' 
observation.  The  great  point  is  to  mix  the  ingredients  at 
boiling  heat.  I  would  try  whether  the  strength  noted  was 
safe  for  any  special  plant.  I  rather  think  it  is  for  cabbage, 
but  certainly  not  for  young  leafage  of  roses.  I  shall  be  very 
glad  if  I  can  be  of  any  help  in  the  matter. 


I02  LETTERS  TO  COLONEL  COUSSMAKER  [Chap.  xiii. 

TORRINGTON    HOUSE,   St.  AlBAXS, 

January  26,  1888.  . 
Many  thanks  for  your  note  received  this  morning.  I  shall 
hope  to  add  some  of  it  to  my  Turnip  Caterpillars  paper, 
which  is  not  yet  gone  to  press.  Thank  you  for  the  offer 
of  the  specimens,  but  I  do  not  quite  see  my  way  to  showing 
live  ones  yet.  My  lecture  [at  the  London  Farmers'  Club] 
is  a  terribly  anxious  prospect  to  myself,  but  I  can  but  do 
my  best,  and  I  am  endeavouring  with  the  utmost  care  to 
form  something  that  may  be  acceptable,  but  I  am  sure  you 
will  believe  me  that  to  address  such  a  skilled  audience  is 
rather  anxious  work.  I  should  much  like  to  lay  before  the 
members  of  the  Club  some  ideas  for  their  consideration  as 


Female,  head  of  male,  and  caterpillar. 

FIG.   2. — WOOD   LEOPARD   MOTH,   ZEUZERA   MSCULI,   LINN. 

to  how  some  reasonable  amount  of  plain  serviceable  infor- 
mation might  be  got  abroad.  I  do  not  believe  in  all  this 
lecturing,  examining  and  talking  of  classification.  To  my 
thinking  it  is  beginning  at  the  wrong  end,  and  that  the 
learners  need  first  to  make  sure  of  their  facts  in  the  field 
and  classify  them  when  they  have  got  them,  if  they  do  it 
at  all. 

February  17,  1890. 
I  have  examined  your  caterpillars  carefully,  and  I  find  that 
of  the  oak  stem  to  correspond  exactly  with  the  larva  of  the 
Wood  leopard  moth,  the  Zeuzera  cesctili.  This  is  commonly 
found  in  (or  at  least  it  is  usually  sent  me  from)  wood  of 
fruit  trees,  but  it  attacks  oak  as  well  as  forest  trees  of  various 


1890.]       WOOD   LEOPARD  AND   PUSS  MOTHS 


103 


kinds.  Your  specimen  has  also  one  of  the  characteristic 
habits  of  ejecting  brown  fluid  from  its  mouth  on  disturb- 
ance. I  think  you  have  my  ^^  Manual/'  and  there  you 
would  find  a  figure  of  the  moth  and  larva.  Your  specimen 
is  rather  full  coloured,  but  they  vary  greatly  in  this  respect. 
Your  other  caterpillar  is  a  Lepidopterous  larva,  but  I 
cannot  name  it  with  certainty.  It  is  quite  possible  that  it 
is  the  larva  of  the  "  Hornet  Clearwing,"  the  Trochilium 
(=  Sesia)  bembecifonne,  but  I  have  never  seen  a  specimen, 
although  the   attack  is  said   to   be  common,  especially  to 


Male  and  caterpillar  (life  size). 

FIG.   3. — PUSS  MOTH,   DICRANURA    VINULA,   LINN. 


Salix  caprea.  The  attack  is  stated  to  be  mostly  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  stem.  I  think  that  you  very  likely  have  Loudon's 
^^  Arboretum '.'  in  your  Ubrary,  and  if  so  you  would  find 
some  good  notes  and  fair  figures  of  the  hornet-like  moth  and 
its  larva  and  pupa  in  situ  in  the  wood  at  pp.  1481  and  1482, 
vol.  iii.  The  larva  is  nearly  dead  now,  so  that  the  form  is 
altered,  but  I  do  not  see  any  reason  against  it  being  this 
kind  ;  still  I  cannot  say  it  is. 

I  have  a  very  curious  report  of  much  damage  attributed 
to  Puss  moth  caterpillars  at  a  locality  in  Lincolnshire,  and 


104  PAPERS   BY   MR.   SERVICE        [Chap.  xiii. 

am  waiting  with  much  interest  for  specimens  to  see  what  the 
cause  can  be.     I  rather  expect  it  will  be  rabbits  ! 

Yours  very  truly, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 

[The  following  notes  by  Mr.  Robert  Service  ^  are  explana- 
tory of  subjoined  correspondence. 

"The  ^Hill-grub'  (the  caterpillar  of  the  Antler  moth, 
Charceas  graminis).  Sheep-farmers  are  threatened  with 
another  plague.  The  ^  hill-grub '  has  often  done  consider- 
able damage  to  the  upland  grass-lands,  notably  in  the  years 
from  1830  to  1835.  Just  now  complaints  are  rife  from 
farms  in  many  parts  of  the  wide  districts  ravaged  by  the 
Voles 2  (in  1891-92-93).  As  usual  the  farmers  look  on 
these  ^hill-grubs'  as  very  sudden  arrivals,  but  this  is  not 
the  case,  for  last  autumn  the  moths  which  these  larvae 
produce  were  in  extraordinary  swarms,  and  far  in  advance 
of  their  normal  numbers.  I  remember  noting  at  the  end  of 
last  September  when  coming  down  from  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Loch  Dungeon  one  evening  in  the  twilight,  how 
unusually  abundant  the  Antler  moths  were  flying.  The 
evening  was  mild  and  very  moist,  and  just  as  we  got  on  to  the 
level  ground  at  the  outside  of  a  moss  af  perhaps  six  acres  in 
extent,  we  found  Antler  moths  flying  in  countless  myriads 
in  every  direction.  The  time  was  6.40,  and  there  was  still 
enough  of  the  gloaming  left  to  see  the  moths  quite  distinctly 
on  every  side,  flying  just  below  the  level  of  the  grass-seed 
heads. 

"  On  August  23rd  I  happened  to  be  going  across  the  farm 
of  Townhead,  in  Closeburn  parish,  Dumfriesshire,  and  about 
10.10  a.m.  the  Antler  moths  appeared  in  myriads.  Thousands 
upon  thousands  of  them  were  flying  in  all  directions,  most 
of  them  just  amongst  and  over  the  flowering  heads  of  the 
spret,  f  uncus  articulatus ;  but  many  were  flying  higher  in 
the  air,  and  some  mounted  up  out  of  sight.  It  was  a  won- 
derful scene,  and  one  that  I  would  not  have  cared  to  miss. 
The  effect  was   altogether  different  to  that  presented  by  the 

"  These  observations  are  extracted  from  part  of  a  series  published 
under  the  geographical  nom  de  plume  of  "  Mabie  Moss,"  this  (sometime) 
moss  district  having  been  long  under  the  observation  of  Mr.  Service — 
not  a  young  lady,  as  Miss  Ormerod  conjectured,  but  a  well-known 
ornithologist  who  also  takes  a  considerable  interest  in  Economic 
Entomology  (Ed.). 

^  Vide  Report  of  the  Departmental  Committee  appointed  by  the 
Board  of  Agriculture  to  inquire  into  a  plague  of  field  voles  in  Scotland 
(Sir  Herbert  E.  Maxwell,  M.P.,  Chairman).  Eyre  and  Spottiswoode,  1893. 


1894.]  ANTLER   MOTH    CATERPILLARS  105 

evening  flight  I  saw  near  Loch   Dungeon  in  the  previous 
autumn. 

*^A  party  of  gentlemen  fishing  from  near  the  Holm  of 
Dalquhairn  for  some  five  or  six  miles  down  the  Ken  found 
all  the  trout  they  caught  perfectly  crammed  with  these 
^hill-grub'  caterpillars.  Old  shepherds  will  tell  of  times 
when  they  were  so  numerous  that  after  sudden  thunder- 
showers  the  sheep-drains  have  been  completely  dammed 
up  with  their  bodies.  The  moth  deposits  its  eggs,  which 
produce  larvae  that  descend  to  and  feed  mostly  about  the 
roots  of  grasses  during  the  autumn  and  early  winter.  After 
hybernation  they  commence  in  March  and  April  to  feed 
again  with  redoubled  energy,  and  they  turn  to  pupai  at  the 
end  of  June  and  during  July,  producing  the  moths  again  in 
a  few  weeks  (the  perfect  insect  flies  during  August  and 
September).     Thus  their  cycle  of  existence  in  these  various 


FIG.  4. — ANTLER   OR  GRASS  MOTH,   CHAR^AS   GRAMINIS, 
AND  CATERPILLARS. 

stages  extends  the  whole  year  round.  Their  worst  natural 
enemy  is  the  common  rook  at  the  season  when  these  birds 
betake  themselves  and  their  young  broods  to  the  hills,  and  I 
have  reason  to  believe  that  many  other  birds  devour  them. 
The  blackheaded  gull.  Lams  ridibundus,  and  the  common 
gull,  L.  canuSy  are  very  fond  of  the  larvae.  Curlews  take 
a  good  many,  golden  plovers  and  lapwings  pick  them  up 
in  numbers.  Cuckoos  also  feed  upon  them,  and  I  have 
found  the  stomachs  of  snow  buntings,  shot  on  the  hills  at 
midwinter,  filled  with  these  grubs"  (R.  S.). 

Miss  Ormerod  says  :  "  The  caterpillars,  when  full  grown, 
are  about  an  inch  or  rather  more  long,  with  brown  head, 
and  the  body  of  a  deep  bronze  colour,  exceedingly  shiny 
on  the  back  and  on  the  upper  part  of  the  sides.  The  bronze 
colour  is  divided  lengthwise  by  three  pale  lines,  the  back 
and  side  stripes  meeting  or  almost  meeting  above  the  tail, 


io6  LETTERS  TO   MR.   SERVICE         [Chap.  xiii. 

and  another  narrower  pale  stripe  or  line  runs  lower  down 
along  each  side."] 

To  Robert  Service,  Esq.,  Maxwelltown,  Dumfries. 

TORRINGTON    HOUSE,   ST.   AlBANS, 

August  I,  1894. 
Dear  Sir, — It  is  many  years  since  you  gave  me  any  of 
your  good  observations,  but  indeed  I  would  gladly  have 
profited  by  them,  and  it  was  only  lately  that  I  knew  you 
were  continuing  them.  Perhaps  Mr.  Bailey,  the  editor,^ 
may  have  mentioned  to  you  that  I  w^as  so  struck  with  the 
paper  which  he  sent  me,  in  which  you  mention  C.  graminis, 
that  interpreting  the  nom  de  plmne  (''  Mabie  Moss '')  literally, 
I  wrote  to  him  expressing  my  admiration  and  asking  if  I 
might  be  put  in  communication  with  the  writer ;  and  now 
may  I  prefer  the  request  to  yourself  that,  if  you  please,  you 
will  kindly  tell  me  anything  you  are  inclined  to  favour  me 
with  about  this  recent  outbreak  of  the  C.  graminis.  Would  it 
not  be  of  great  interest  if  we  could  make  out  something  more 
about  the  parasites  ?  There  are,  firstly,  the  threadworms — 
Mermis.  Do  you  chance  to  have  identified  them  ?  I  have 
got  no  further  than  the  specialist  to  whom  I  sent  specimens, 
thinking  they  were  most  likely  Mermis  albicans — but  this 
he  was  going  to  investigate.  Then  there  is  the  bacterian 
infestation — the  ''  flacherie,"  2  as  they  call  it  in  silk-worms. 
This  seems  to  me  of  great  practical  interest ;  and,  thirdly, 
the  larval  parasitism  of  the  C.  graminis  larvae.  I  had  so 
exceedingly  few  specimens  that  I  could  not  work  up  the 
matter,  but,  whilst  one  cocoon  sent  to  me  appeared  to  be 
that  of  an  Ichneumon,  the  only  large  larva  which  I  found 
certainly  in  many  respects  resembled  that  of  a  Tachina  fly. 
I  should  greatly  like,  if  agreeable  to  yourself,  to  hear  from 
you  again  on  entomological  matters.  Besides  the  pleasure, 
it  is  a  great  advantage  to  me  to  have  contributions  of  skilled 
and  experienced  information,  and  I  would  indeed  most 
scrupulously  acknowledge  to  whom  I  was  indebted. 

August  3,  1894. 
I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  taking  the  trouble  to  send 
the  morsels  of  C.  graminis  caterpillars.  As  you  say,  I  am 
afraid  we  could  hardly  get  results  from  them,  but  still  with 
bacteria  presence  I  do  not  know  but  dried  bits  may  show 
something  when  moistened,  so  I  am  keeping  them  for  the 

^  Of  the  "  Dumfries  Herald  and  Courier." 
^  Disease  caused  by  Micrococcus  bombycis. 


1894.]  HILL-GRUB   ENQUIRY  107 

present.  That  enormous  appearance  of  the  imagos  must 
have  been  a  wonderful  sight ;  I  should  have  liked  to  see  it — 
and  what  (I  wonder)  will  be  the  result  ? 

Pretty  surely  I  suppose  there  will  be  egg-laying  and  a 
consequent  presence  of  larvae  ?  But  if  your  convenience 
allowed  you  to  inspect  say  two  months  hence,  would  it  not 
be  very  interesting  to  ascertain — absolutely  make  sure — 
whether  there  is  a  presence  of  the  "  hill  grubs  "  or  whether 
the  parasitism  of  their  parents  has  been  transmitted,  to  the 
weakening  or  destruction  of  their  descendants  ?  If  we 
found  no  grubs,  nor  grubs  with  '^  flacherie  "  present,  what  a 
very  interesting  discovery  this  would  be  ! 

September  14,  1894. 

I  am  writing  a  few  lines  at  once  on  receipt  of  your  letter, 
first  to  thank  you  for  your  geographical  note,  which  helps 
me  very  much.  [These  attacks  of  "hill-grubs"  were  more 
or  less  general  over  the  hill  country  of  Kirkcudbrightshire 
and  over  the  adjacent  sheep-farms  in  Ayrshire,  the  Dum- 
friesshire hills,  and  the  contiguous  sheep-farm  districts  in 
Lanarkshire,  Peebles,  Selkirk,  and  Roxburgh.  Seven 
counties  were  affected  to  my  knowledge.  R.S.]  What  a  wide- 
spread outburst  this  has  been  1  But  I  also  write  to  beg  you 
not  to  suppose  for  one  minute  that  I  see  any  reason  to 
doubt  what  we  have  had  laid  down  for  such  a  length  of 
time  about  date  of  hatching  of  larvae  of  C.  gmrninis.  Mr. 
Wm.  Buckler  ^  "  lumped  "  his  observations  of  this  and  two 
other  species,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  what  happened  to 
caterpillars,  which  I  gather  he  observed  in  captivity,  in  no 
way  militates  against  correctness  of  other  people's  out-of- 
door  observations. 

With  many  thanks  for  all  the  information  you  give  me. 

November  20,  1894. 
I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  the  very  interesting 
note  you  have  let  me  have  about  these  dipterous  parasites  2 
of  the  C.  gramiiiis.  How  fortunate  you  have  been  to 
secure  them,  and  in  such  good  order  too  !  As  you  have 
been  kind  enough  to  give  me  two  of  your  specimens,  I  think 
I  will  presently  send  one  of  them  to  Mr.  Meade,  of  Bradford. 
I  am  sure  he  would  value  it  very  much,  and  would  doubtless 
identify  it,  which  would  be  a  help  to  me,  for  as  you  know 
I    do   not   like   to    rest    without   verification   on   my   own 

'  In  Larv(B  of  British  Butterflies  and  Moths  (Ray  Society). 
=  Exorista  lota,  "not  an   uncommon  fly,  and  parasitic   on  several 
Lepidoptera." — Meade. 


io8  LETTERS  TO   MR.   SERVICE.       [Chap.  xiii. 

dipterous  identifications.  You  would  not  mind  about  this 
part,  as  doubtless  if  you  have  not  yourself  identified,  Mr. 
Percy  H.  Grimshaw,  Museum  of  Science  and  Art,  Edinburgh, 
would  see  to  it  (pp.  149,  185). 

Do  you  ever  come  across  the  so-called  **  Turnip  Mud- 
beetle,"  Helophorus  rugostts,  in  your  country  ?  I  had  the 
beetle  some  years  ago,  as  doing  harm  to  turnip  leafage,  but 
we  could  not  find  the  larva.  Lately  we  found  a  larva  doing 
a  deal  of  mischief  in  the  same  neighbourhood  by  burrowing 
galleries  in  the  top  of  turnips,  and  it  struck  me  we  might 
have  what  we  wanted  to  complete  the  history.  So  I  sent 
it  to  Canon  Fowler,  and  he  identified  as  beyond  doubt 
Helophorus  and  being  found  where  H.  r.  resorts,  it  is  hardly 
open  to  doubt  that  we  have  got  parent  and  child.  Please 
excuse  a  short  letter,  for  I  am  working  as  hard  as  I  can 
manage. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 

[The  parasitic  and  other  enemies  of  the  ^^  hill-grub  "  are 
so  effective  in  their  attacks  that  in  the  year  following  a 
great  increase  in  numbers  a  normal  level  of  occurrence  is 
invariably  restored.] 


CHAPTER  XIV 

LETTERS   TO   MR.   WILLIAM   BAILEY. 

The  Ox  warble — Its  destruction  by  the  Aldersey  Schoolboys — Annual  gift  of 
prize  money— The  Royal  Party  at  St.  Albans'  Show. 

In  addition  to  the  entomological  value  of  the  next  group 
of  letters  dealing  chiefly  with  Ox  warbles,  Miss  Ormerod's 
unselfish  interest  in  promoting  a  wider  knowledge  of  her 
subject  is  well  shown  in  her  words  of  appreciation  and 
encouragement  to  Mr.  Bailey  in  connection  with  his  work 
(especially  in  relation  to  the  success  of  correspondence 
with  the  Duke  of  Westminster),  and  the  practical  induce- 
ments, as  well  as  sympathy,  extended  to  his  pupils. 

To  Wm.  Bailey,  Esq.,  Aldersey,  Grammar  School,  Bunhury, 
Tarporley,   Cheshire, 

TORRINGTON    HOUSE,   ST.   AlBANS, 

November  2^,  1887. 
Dear  Mr.  Bailey, — I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you 
indeed  for  kindly  letting  me  see  the  documents  which  I 
now  return,  after  most  careful  perusal,  with  many  thanks. 
It  is  indeed  satisfactory  that  the  good  work  of  our  boys 
(destroying  warbles),  should  have  given  such  valuable  help 
in  this  matter,  which  is  so  important  to  all  who  have  to  do 
with  cattle,  and  consequently  to  the  nation.  The  approval 
of  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Westminster  (so  kindly  given,  too) 
will  add  great  weight,  and  I  am  heartily  glad  also  to  see  the 
Hon.  Cecil  Parker's  confirmation  from  personal  experiment 
and  knowledge  of  the  soundness  of  the  plan  and  its  success. 
I  think  if  I  can  get  time  that  I  will  write  to  him,  to  mention 


110 


LETTER  BY   MR.   BAILEY       [Chap.  xiv. 


how  strongly  the  many  letters  which  I  have  received  this 
year  confirm  the  good  effects  of  removal  of  the  maggots 
(2  of  fig.  5,  and  fig.  7),  and  likewise  the  prevention  (in 
almost  every  case  mentioned)  of  summer  disturbance  of  the 
cattle. 

I  thought  you  would  not  object  to  my  keeping  a  copy  of 
your  letter  to  his  Grace. 

The  Committee  of  the  "  London  Farmers'  Club  "  which  I 
daresay  you  know  more  about  than  I  do,  but  which  I  believe 
to  be  the  great  Farmers'  Club  of  England,  has  sent  me  an 
urgent  request  to  read  them  a  paper  on  Injurious  Insects,  at 


I,  Egg  ;  2,  maggot  ;  3  and  4,  chrysalis-case  ;  5  and  6,  fly.  3  and  5, 
natural  size,  after  Bracy  Clark  ;  the  other  figures  after  Brauer,  and  all 
magnified. 

FIG.    5.— ox  WARBLE   FLY,   OR   BOT   FLY,   HYPODERMA   BO  VIS,   DE   GEER. 


their  meeting  place,  the  Salisbury  Square  Hotel,  London,  in 
next  April.  Professor  Herbert  Little,  one  of  the  Council  of 
the  Royal  Agricultural  Society,  brought  me  the  message,  and 
at  first  I  felt  fairly  frightened  at  the  idea,  and  tried  to  **  make 
excuse,"  for  it  is  a  somewhat  anxious  prospect  (in  the  words 
of  old  John  Knox)  for  a  gentlewoman  to  look  in  the  face  of 
so  many  *'  bearded  men  and  not  be  over  much  afraid,"  but 
I  got  such  serious  remonstrance,  almost  rebuke,  from 
various  quarters  that  I  have  consented  to  endeavour  to 
prepare  as  good  a  paper  as  I  can,  and  read  it  myself.  Now 
if  you  permit  me — I  think  that  in  the  portion  about  warbles 
it  would  be  very  useful  (and  much  more  telling  than  any 


i887.] 


TO   THE    DUKE    OF   WESTMINSTER 


III 


words  of  my  own)  to  give  your  terse,  clear  and  attractively 
worded  account  of  what  really  has  happened. 

The  following  extract  is  the  chief  part  of  the  letter  by  Mr. 
Bailey  to  the  Duke  of  Westminster  (October  28,  1887) : — 

My  Lord  Duke, — I  was  very  thankful  to  see  by  last 
Saturday's  Chester  Chronicle,  that  at  the  Chester  Dairy  Show 
you  drew  the  attention  of  our  farmers  to  the  enormous  loss 
caused  by  the  presence  of  ox  warbles  in  our  cattle.  During 
the  past  three  years,  I  have  been  directing  the  notice  of  my 


FIG.   6.— PIECE  OF  YEARLING  SKIN   WITH   402   WARBLE-HOLES. 

(Greatly  reduced  by  photography.) 


pupils  to  the  mischief  done  by  these  warbles,  and,  as  we 
have  now  nearly  stamped  out  this  pest  in  Bunbury  Parish, 
it  has  occurred  to  me  that  your  Grace  might  be  interested 
in  learning  the  course  which  we  have  taken,  and  also  in 
seeing  how  very  easily  our  farmers  might  get  rid  of  this 
enemy.  The  great  majority  of  the  boys  in  this  school  are 
either  sons  of  farmers,  or  of  farm  labourers.  After  the  boys 
had  received  from  me  a  short  lesson  on  the  Warble    fly, 


112  LETTER   BY   MR.   BAILEY  [Chap.  xiv. 

they  were  asked  to  examine  their  cattle  at  home,  and  to 


FIG,   7. — PIECE   OF   UNDER   SIDE   OF   WARBLED   HIDE  ;   WARBLES  ABOUT 
HALF   SIZE. 

From  a  Photo  by  Messrs.  Byrne,  Richmond,  Surrey. 

bring  to  school  as  many  specimens  as  they  could  collect  of 
the  maggots  of  this  fly.     Hundreds  were  squeezed  out  and 


FIG   8.— BREATHING-TUBES    OF    MAGGOT   (TO    WHICH    THE    SMEAR  IS   APPLIED), 
MAGGOT,   AND    PRICKLES  OUTSIDE  SKIN   OF  MAGGOT   (ALL  MAGNIFIED). 


brought   in   the   course   of   a   few    days.     One   boy   alone 


1887.]  ox   WARBLE    FLY   ATTACK  113 

destroyed  230  of  these  warble  grubs  in  the  spring  of  1885 
by  the  application  of  common  cart  grease  and  sulphur  to 
the  spiracle  in  the  black  tipped  tail  of  the  maggot  or  by 
squeezing  out  the  maggots.  [Vide  Miss  Ormerod's  ninth 
Annual  Report  on  Injurious  Insects  and  Common  Farm 
Pests,  p.  92.]  Last  Easter  I  desired  my  pupils,  during  the 
week's  holiday,  to  examine  carefully  the  live  stock  at  home 
for  ox  warble  and  to  report  to  me.  I  enclose  a  copy  of  the 
first  list  which  I  received,  and  I  am  sure  it  will  satisfy  your 
Grace  that  this  pest  may  easily  be  stamped  out,  if  our 
farmers,  their  sons,  or  their  labourers  would  apply  the 
smear,  or  press  out  the  maggots  and  destroy  them.  School 
boys  can  do  this  work,  and  feel  a  pleasure  in  the  task. 
What  has  been  accomplished  by  Bunbury  boys  can  be 
equally  well  done  by  the  boys  of  any  other  village 
school.! 

[A  leaflet  which  Miss  Ormerod  circulated  widely  says  : — 
From  ;^3,ooo,ooo  to  ;^4,ooo,ooo  are  lost  annually  through 
these  pests.  One-half  the  fat  beasts  killed  in  this  country 
are  afflicted  with  this  grub.  The  farmer  loses  on  his  stock 
from  poorer  condition,  and  from  death  ;  from  less  yield  of 
milk,  and  damage  to  all,  especially  to  fattening  beasts,  and 
cows  from  their  tearing  full  gallop  about  the  fields,  besides 
loss  to  the  butcher  of  from  a  halfpenny  to  a  penny  per 
pound  on  warbled  hides.  Look  at  the  under  side  of  the 
newly  flayed  hide  of  a  warbled  beast  and  see  the  grub  cells 
(fig.  7).  Maggots  may  be  squeezed  out,  or  easily  killed  by 
putting  a  dab  of  cart  grease  and  sulphur,  McDougall's 
Smear,  or  anything  that  will  choke  them  in  the  opening  of 
the  warble,  and  the  fly  may  be  prevented  from  striking  by 
dressing  the  beasts'  backs  in  summer.] 

May  I  add  that  during  the  past  five  years  I  have  been 
drawing  the  attention  of  the  boys  to  insects,  which  are 
injurious  to  food  crops.  They  are  quite  familiar  with  such 
pests  as  the  leather  jacket,  wireworm,  turnip  and  mangold 
fly,  caterpillars  of  the  magpie  moth,  and  the  gooseberry  and 
currant  sawfly,  &c.,  &c.,  for  hundreds  of  living  specimens 
have  been  brought  to  the  school,  bird's-nesting  having  to  a 
very  great  extent  been  superseded  by  this  new  pursuit.    The 

*  Recent  record  of  Warbles  extracted  by  the  Aldersey  Schoolboys 
and  brought  to  the  Headmaster  : — 

1895,  1,022  ;  1896,  2,596  ;  1897,  3,965  ;  1898,  1,706  ;  1899,  2,252  ; 
1900,  1,851  ;  1901,  1,391  ;  1902,  1,066 — Total,  15,849. 

9 


114 


LETTERS  TO    MR.   BAILEY       [Chap.  xiv. 


boys,  having  become  well  acquainted  with  the  pests,  were 
instructed  as  to  the  best  methods  of  prevention  and  remedy. 
These  boys  will,  in  the  course  of  a  very  few  years,  be  the 
farmers  and  farm  labourers  of  this  district,  and  1  am  satisfied 
that  even  the  little  instruction  which  I  am  able  to  give  them 
in  what  I  may  call  "  Practical  Entomology  "  will  then  be 
found  to  be  of  considerable  use  to  them. — W.  Bailey.^ 


Moth  at  rest,  and  with  wings  spread  ;  caterpillar  walking, 

FIG.   9. — MAGPIE   MOTH    (CURRANT  AND   GOOSEBERRY),   ABRAXAS 
GROSSULARIATA,   LINN. 


*  Mr.  Bailey  writes  in  August,  1902  :— "The  Haberdashers'  Company 
are  the  Governors  of  my  school,  and  at  our  Midsummer  distribution  of 
prizes  in  June,  1882,  Mr.  Curtis,  who  was  a  member  of  the  deputation 
who  visited  us  in  that  year,  suggested  that  it  would  be  a  good  thing  to 
give  instruction  to  the  boys  on  Injurious  Insects.  Failing  to  obtain  a 
lecturer  through  South  Kensington,  at  my  suggestion,  he  called  on 
Miss  Ormerod.  She  suggested  that  I  should  take  the  subject,  and 
added  that  she  would  give  me  all  the  assistance  in  her  power.  From 
that  day  up  to  the  day  of  her  death  she  took  the  kindest  interest  in  our 
work.  She  presented  to  the  school  many  books,  beautiful  diagrams, 
and  a  series  of  insect  cases  [prepared  by  Mosley  of  the  Huddersfield 
Museum,  after  the  cases  arranged  by  Professor  Westwood  and  Miss 
Ormerod  for  the  S.  and  A.  Museum  at  Bethnal  Green],  and  was  a  liberal 
donor  of  prizes  at  Midsummer  from  1885  to  1901  (both  inclusive). 
Every  Midsummer  she  kindly  wrote  a  letter  to  be  read  on  that  occasion 


1887.]  RESIDENCE   AT    ST.    ALBANS  115 

November  2^,  1887.* 
Dear  Mr.  Bailey, — The  Farmers'  Club  meeting  will  be 
an  exceptionally  rare  opportunity  of  pushing  forward  this, 
and  some  other  important  matters,  as  well  as  of  laying 
before  some  of  our  leading  agriculturists  some  important 
facts  about  a  few  of  the  pests  of  the  corn  crops  of  last 
season's  notoriety.  You  will  think  my  letter  endless,  but 
I  want  to  congratulate  you  most  heartily  on  your  good 
success  in  the  examinations  (which  must  be  a  weary  work 
to  prepare  for),  and  also  on  that  of  your  assistant  master 
and  teacher,  which  is  indeed  encouraging,  and  to  say  how 
sorry  we  are  to  hear  of  your  illness.  I  trust,  if  it  please 
God,  that  you  may  have  comfortable  health  again — it  makes 
such  a  difference. 

Since  my  sister  and  I  came  to  St.  Albans  we  are  almost 
like  different  people.  We  have  a  beautiful  house  (pi.  xix.) 
with  such  thick  walls  that  we  do  not  feel  the  changes  of 
temperature,  and  a  lovely  country  view  along  the  valley. 
We  have  also  met  with  a  most  kindly  reception,  and,  last  but 
not  least  amongst  blessings  and  comforts  for  which  we  are 
deeply  grateful,  is  that  educated  earnest  clergy  form  a 
decided  element  in  the  Society.  But  now  I  ought  only  to 
add  thanks  and  very  kind  regards  from  us  both. 

December  11,  1887. 

I  must  tell  you  the  pleasure  with  which  I  heard  your  letter 
to  the  Duke  of  Westminster  read  at  the  "  Seeds  and  Plants 
Diseases  "  Committee  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  on 
Tuesday,  and  recommended  for  report  to  the  Council,  and  I 
am  glad  to  see  it  on  the  Society's  report  sheet  sent  me  this 
morning,  as  being  recommended  for  publication.  I  think 
this  will  do  a  great  deal  of  good,  and  it  cannot,  I  think,  fail 
to  be  a  great  satisfaction  to  yourself  that  the  excellent  work 
done  under  your  guidance  and  direction  should  thus  be  of 
such  extended  service  throughout  the  land.  I  also  figure  to 
myself  how  pleased  the  good  lads  will  be  ! 

Will  you  accept  the  enclosed  photo  of  my  new  and  most 
comfortable  home  (plate  xix.) ;  it  gives  a  good  idea  of  it, 
excepting  in  not  quite  showing  the  very  rapid  slope  down 
from  the  terrace  flower  beds. 

It  would  be  a  great  and  very  true  pleasure  if  when  you 

to  the  boys.     I  think  I  ought  to  add  that  the  Haberdashers'  Company 
were  good  enough  to  make  a  grant  of  £2^  to  start  us  with  this  new  sub- 
ject, and  have  since  generously  supported  the  carrying  on  of  the  work." 
^  Continuation  of  Miss  Qrmerod's  letter  to  Mr.  Bailey. 


ii6  LETTER  TO   MR.   MEDD  [Chap.  xiv. 

can  spare  time  you  would  look  in  on  us  here  for  a  couple 
of  nights ;  I  am  sure  that  with  our  old  Abbey  and  the  many 
things  of  interest  here,  and  some  chat  which  you  would  let 
us  have  between  whiles,  the  time  would  not  lag.  There 
are  both  pleasure  and  benefit  in  the  work  you  allow  me 
a  part  in.  Pray  believe  me  always,  with  kind  regards  and 
good  wishes  from  us  both. 

Yours  sincerely, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 

[On  the  warble  question  Miss  Ormerod  wrote  on  April 
22,  1899,  to  Dr.  Fletcher  I : — 

"  Just  now  I  am  working  hard  on  Warble  affairs.  The 
butchers  (that  is,  leading  men  among  them)  very  much  wish 
that  what  is  called  *  licked  '  beef  should  be  inquired  into. 
I  do  not  know  whether  you  are  troubled  by  this  in  Canada, 
but  it  is  an  alteration  that  takes  place  on  the  outside  of  the 
carcass  of  the  animal  beneath  a  badly  warbled  part  of  the 
hide.  This  part  becomes  soft  and  wet  and  blackish,  and  is 
popularly  supposed  to  be  soaked  with  moisture  from  the 
unlucky  animal  licking  itself  to  soothe  the  irritation.  Really 
it  is  the  result  of  the  chronic  inflammation  of  the  badly 
warbled  hide.  This  causes  much  loss  to  butchers,  and  if  I 
can  get  it  well  brought  forward  I  think  we  shall  through 
this  rouse  the  farmers  to  better  attention.  The  authorities 
at  our  Royal  Veterinary  College  are  most  kindly  helping 
me,  and  I  hope  before  long  to  have  enough  sound  informa- 
tion to  be  able  to  publish  a  paper  on  it." 

To  Mr.  Medd2  Miss  Ormerod  also  wrote  in  Nov.,  1900: — 
"  Do  you  chance  to  have  noticed  that  the  Warble  fly  of 
the  United  States,  the  Hypoderma  lineata,  is  considered  to  be 
quite  a  distinct  species  to  our  H.  bovis  f  I  believe  that 
investigation  has  proved  that  our  bovis  is  very  rarely  found 
in  the  U.S.A.,  just  as  their  lineata  is  very  rarely,  indeed, 
found  here.  Practically  (that  is,  so  far  as  injury  to  the  hide 
is  concerned),  the  trouble  is  similar,  both  in  method  of 
operation  and  in  the  frightful  amount  of  damage  caused  ; 
but  it  has  been  laid  down  by  good  U.S.A.  authorities  that  in 
the  case  of  their  Warble  fly,  lineata,  the  attack  is  com- 
menced by  the  quite  embryo  maggots  making  their  way  by 
the  mouth  to  the  gullet  and  there  hanging  on  until  it  pleases 
them  to  make  their  way  onward,  by  piercing  through  the 
coat  of  the  oesophagus  and  onward  through  the  tissues  of 

^  See  Chaps,  xix.-xx.  for  letters  to  Dr.  Fletcher.         '  See  Chap.  xxii. 


1900.] 


HORSE    BOT    FLY 


117 


the  beast  until  they  arrive  after  their  long  and  curious 
journey  beneath  the  ribs,  whence  they  proceed  to  work 
beneath  the  hide  like  ours.  The  matter  seems  to  me  very 
curious,  but  I  was  not  called  on  to  enter  into  discussion, 
excepting  giving  my  reasons  why  I  felt  wholly  certain,  and 


I,  Male  ;  2,  curved  extremity  of  abdomen  of  female  ;  3,  maggot ; 
4,  mouth  hooks  ;  5,  spiracles  at  extremity  of  tail  of  maggot— all 
greatly  magnified  (after  Brauer). 


Eggs  attached  to  hairs  from  a  horse's 
fore-leg  magnified  and  natural  size. 
(After  Bracy  Clark.) 


Maggots  or  horse  bots  attached 
to  membrane  of  stomach.  (After 
Bracy  Clark.) 


FIG.    10. — HORSE  BOT  FLY,   OR   HORSE  BEE,   GASTROPHILUS  EQUI,   FAB. 

considered  the  evidence  in  our  hands  proved,  that  our  H. 
bovis  did  not  start  on  its  travels  in  this  way." 

On  May  14,  1900,  she  addressed  another  correspondent 
thus  : — 

''  I  have  another  formal  application  from  the  authorities 


ii8  LETTERS  TO   MR.   BAILEY       [Chap.  xiv. 

of  S.  Australia  ; — (this  time  from  our  friend  Mr.  Molineux) 
relative  to  Horse  botfly — and  very  especially  to  make 
them  sure  regarding  the  precise  differences  between  Bot, 
Warble,  and  Gad  flies.  I  have  explained  that  Gad  flies, 
Tabanidce,  may  be  distinguished  by  being  blood  suckers, 
and  by  their  maggots  feeding  in  the  ground,  and  that  '  Bot ' 
or  ^  Warble '  are  only  two  convertible  names  for  QLstridcey 
but  that  ^  Bot '  is  usually  most  specially  applied  to  internal 
feeding  maggots,  and  Warble  to  those  that  live  in  the  hide, 
notably  in  Warbles.  But  such  difficulty  continues  to  arise 
from  haphazard  use  of  the  words,  I  have  suggested  that  if 
possible  the  scientific  name — (Gastrophilus  equi)  should  be 
insisted  on.  An  entomologist  (?)  had  absolutely  called  this 
attack  or  kind  of  attack  inside  a  horse  that  of  ^  Gad  fly ' ! 
But  as  the  attack  has  been  well  studied  in  the  Department  of 
Agriculture,  Cape  Town,  I  have  suggested  they  should 
communicate  with  the  Government  entomologist,  Mr.  C. 
Lownsbury.  For  their  practical  needs,  I  have  suggested 
clearing  the  Horse  botfly,  G.  eqin,  eggs  from  the  hair  by 
dressing,  and  very  especially  that  they  should  take  care  all 
droppings  (in  which  the  maggots  pass  from  the  horse,  and 
where,  or  in  the  ground  beneath,  they  go  through  their 
changes  to  the  perfect  state)  should  be  so  treated  as  to  kill 
the  maggots.  It  may  possibly  turn  out  that  the  Gastrophilus 
may  be  some  other  species  than  equi — I  have  not  had 
specimens.  When  you  are  about  to  devote  so  much 
attention  to  Colonial  Agriculture  [in  the  *'Garton"  course 
of  Colonial  and  Indian  Lectures],  I  wished  very  much  to 
tell  you  what  I  am  about,  lest  I  should,  as  this  is  sent  me 
officially,  go  on  other  lines  than  you  approve."] 

Juneg,  1891/ 
Dear  Mr.  Bailey, — I  have  now  much  pleasure  in  asking 
permission  once  again  to  place  in  your  hands  a  cheque  for 
;^5  5s.,  to  be  used  exactly  as  you  may  judge  fit,  in  purchase 
of  prizes  for  the  encouragement  of  serviceable  study  of 
habits  and  means  of  prevention  of  ravages  of  injurious 
insects  by  your  scholars.  I  have  real  pleasure  in  doing  this 
because  I  believe  the  importance  of  those  who  are  in  any 
way  connected  with  agriculture  being  serviceably  acquainted 
with  the  causes  of  loss  to  crop  or  stock,  and  means  whereby 
this  may  be  lessened,  cannot  be  over-estimated.  I  offer 
my  hearty  congratulations  to  yourself  and  your  pupils  on 
the  satisfactory  work  achieved  in  my  own  department  of 
agricultural  entomology  in  one  more  year. 

^  Letters  to  Mr.  Bailey  continued. 


1893-]  ALDERSEY   SCHOOLBOYS  119 

I  do  not  like  to  offer  views  of  my  own  on  these  matters 
now  that  what  is  called  Technical  Instruction  is  receiving 
such  widespread  attention  throughout  the  country.  Still  I 
should  like,  for  the  encouragement  of  any  of  your  boys  who 
may  think  themselves  behind  in  the  simply  scientific  race,  to 
observe  that  instructions  given  (let  them  be  conveyed  in 
what  terms  the  teacher  will)  must  be  founded  to  start  with, 
on  facts,  trustworthily  observed  and  trustworthily  recorded  ; 
and  the  pupil  who  leaves  your  school  with  the  knowledge  of 
the  appearance  of  the  common  crop  pests,  as  the  wireworm, 
the  turnip  flea  beetle,  the  warble  fly  maggot  for  instance, 
and,  as  I  am  well  aware  is  the  case  with  many  of  your  boys, 
adds  to  this  a  practical  knowledge  of  how  to  lessen  their 
powers  of  mischief,  goes  forth  holding  in  his  mind  what  will 
save  him  many  a  pound  in  the  future,  and  be  a  benefit 
wherever  he  goes.  It  is  a  foundation  on  which  as  much  as 
he  pleases  may  be  built,  but  the  solidly  learnt  field 
knowledge  will  always  be  serviceable. 

J^une  5,  1893. 

I  thank  you  very  much  for  your  kind  letter.  If  I  were 
nearer  it  would  be  a  great  pleasure  to  me  to  be  present  on 
your  prize  day,  when  I  might  have  the  gratification  of 
making  personal  acquaintance  with  many  of  those  whom  I 
know  by  name  as  taking  much  interest  in  this  important 
school  as  well  as  yourself,  whom  I  should  much  like  to 
meet ;  and  also  our  "  Aldersey  boys,"  whom  I  have  known 
and  worked  with,  or  they  with  me,  for  so  many  years. 

It  is  a  very  great  pleasure  to  me  that  they  are  continuing 
their  attention,  under  your  skilled  help  and  guidance,  to 
observation  of  farm  pests,  and  their  work  stands  first  as  a 
proof  of  what  can  be  done  in  getting  rid  of  one  insect  pest. 

When  careful  search  only  produces  twenty  warble  grubs, 
in  a  district  ^  where  a  few  years  ago  they  were  counted 
by  hundreds,  to  my  thinking  we — that  is,  the  boys,  you 
and  I — may  fairly  be  proud  of  a  thoroughly  useful  work.  If 
I  might  venture  on  a  kind  of  little  moral  reflection  I  should 
say  that  I  should  like  the  little  prizes  which  I  have  so  much 
pleasure  in  offering,  to  remind  them  sometimes  of  how 
much  can  be  done,  in  many  other  things  also,  by  even 
moderate  attention  given  at  the  right  time  and  under  the 

'  This  refers  to  Bunbury  only,  where  we  had  nearly  a  "  clean  bill " 
in  that  year.  The  maggots  brought  were  found  in  the  adjoining 
parishes.  I  have  in  late  years  granted  the  boys  a  "  roving  commission." 
On  their  bicycles  they  visit  farms  which  are  many  miles  away  from  their 
homes.    (W.B.). 


120  LETTERS  TO    MR.    BAILEY       [Chap.  xiv. 

guidance  of  sound  knowledge.  I  trust  they  will  continue 
their  field  work.  With  the  increase  of  area  under  cultivation 
or  occupied  by  stock  so  may  their  insect  pests  be  expected 
to  increase,  and  on  sound  knowledge  of  what  really  happens, 
and  what  at  a  paying  rate  can  be  brought  to  our  aid,  our 
hope  rests  of  coping  with  the  farmer's  enemies.  What  I  can 
do  to  help  them  by  advice,  or  by  reply  to  inquiries,  will  be 
gladly  at  their  service.  Whilst  I  congratulate  those  who 
have  won  my  little  tokens  of  goodwill,  and  beg  to  offer  the 
same  for  the  next  prize  day,  I  must  say  to  all  that  in  the 
information  and  benefit  they  have  laid  up  in  their  working 
and  observations  they  have  each  gained  a  prize  far  better 
than  anything  I  can  offer  them. 

May  29,  1894. 
It  is  with  most  sincere  pleasure  that  I  hear  from  you  once 
again  this  year  of  the  good  success  of  the  Aldersey  boys  in 
their  studies  and  of  their  steadiness  in  work.     The  methods 
by  which  serviceable  instruction  on  this  subject,  namely, 
Agricultural  Entomology,  can  be  given  is  often  a  matter  oif 
difficulty  and  doubt,  and  I  certainly  think  that  the  plan  you 
mention  to  me  is  so  good,  and  meets  the  points  of  combin- 
ing practical  knowledge  with  so  much  scientific  informa- 
tion  as  is  requisite,  so  well  that  I   shall  gladly  draw  the 
attention  of  those  who  apply  to  me  for  suggestions  on  these 
subjects  to  its  serviceableness.     You  mention  arranging  the 
observations  of  the  boys  who  take  up  the  study  of  crop  and 
fruit  pests  on  a  system  which,  though  so  simply  worked, 
really   forms    an   excellently   complete    course.     You    say 
that    one    week    the   boys    bring    samples    of    infestation 
injurious   to   fruit ;    in  a  second  week  attacks  on  garden 
vegetables  ;  in  another  week  on  field  crops  ;    in  another  on 
timber  ;    in  another  living  examples  of  the  subjects  figured 
in  the   insect  diagrams  which  my  sister  and   I   have   had 
the  pleasure  of  contributing  to  your  school  collections,  and 
in  yet  another  week  you  receive  notes  of  serviceable  means 
of  prevention  and  remedies.     This  plan  appears  to  me  so 
sound  and  good  that  I  hope  I  may  be  forgiven  for  intruding 
a  few  minutes  on  your  time  in  greatly  desiring  to  draw  the 
attention  of  the  influential  visitors  who  will  be  present  at 
your  meeting  to  how  excellently  this  plan  meets  many  diffi- 
culties.    A  boy  so  taught  knows  his  facts. 

June  2,  1895. 
Many  thanks  for  your  letter  received  yesterday  morning, 
which  is  very  interesting  indeed  to  me,  and  which  I  hope  to 
reply  to  very  soon,  but  now  I  am  replying  to  your  note 


1895.]  WINTER   MOTH    CATERPILLARS  121 

accompanying  the  caterpillars  from  the  Peckforton  Hills, 
though  not  so  fully  as  I  could  wish,  for  disasters  befell  the 
letter,  and  it  arrived  by  special  messenger  from  the  Post 
Office,  with  the  announcement  that  the  things  had  got  loose, 
and  were  creeping  all  about  !  Any  way  but  little  remained 
to  judge  by,  so  I  report  on  what  was  visible.  Most  of  the 
caterpillars  were  loopers  (fig.  30),  and  the  largest  proportion 
of  these,  though  differing  so  much  in  colour,  appeared  to 
me  to  be  the  Cheimatohia  brumata.  As  you  know  there 
may  be  every  variety  of  shade  in  these  Winter  moth 
caterpillars,  from  pale  green  down  to  smoky  brown  or 
almost  black.  Another  kind  of  which  I  only  find  two 
specimens  (small  and  very  small,  respectively),  look  as  if 
when  grown  they  would  be  the  Mottled  Umber  moth,  which 
is  so  injurious  this  year.  There  are  just  single  specimens  of  a 
few  other  non-looper  kinds,  but  at  this  present  time  all  the 
kinds  come  under  only  one  method  of  (feasible)  treatment, 
and  I  am  afraid  this  (even  if  feasible)  would  be  much  too 
costly  on  such  a  great  scale.  Washing  with  Paris-green  or 
London-purple,  or  with  kerosene  emulsion,  would  be  the 
right  thing,  or  our  British  form  of  the  emulsion,  made  by 
Messrs.  Morris,  Little  and  Son,  Doncaster,  and  sold,  I 
believe,  at  a  very  low  price  (consequent  on  the  large  demand 
for  it),  under  the  trade  name  of  ^'antipest."  This  only 
needs  diluting.  But  when  we  come  to  dealing  with  great 
areas  like  the  Peckforton  Woods,  I  believe  that  the  only 
really  practicable  way  of,  in  some  degree,  lessening  the  evil, 
and  counteracting  its  effects,  is  throwing  water  from  some 
large  engine.  If  a  fire  engine  and  a  supply  of  water  were 
available  this  might  do  a  great  deal  of  good. 

I  was  consulted  by  the  late  Sir  Harry  Verney  about  ^^an 
ancestral  oak  "  at  Clayden,  which  appeared  nearly  cleared  of 
leafage,  and  I  advised  playing  the  house  fire  engine  on  it — 
and  the  plan  succeeded.  The  moisture  falling  around  the 
tree  pushed  on  the  second  leafage  and  (conjecturally)  saved 
the  tree.  But  with  woods  it  is  most  difficult  to  manage 
application.  I  am  afraid  I  am  only  able  to  say  what  would 
be  best,  if  it  could  be  done. 

For  the  future  it  is  a  grave  consideration,  and  consultation 
is  very  desirable,  as  to  what  means  could  reasonably  and 
safely  be  employed  to  destroy  the  caterpillar  in  the  ground. 
They  will  probably  be  very  soon  leaving  the  trees,  and 
burying  themselves  just  below  the  surface,  and  will  most 
likely  reappear,  in  moth  form,  and  ascend  the  trees, 
beginning  in  the  early  winter,  and  thus  eggs  will  be  laid  to 


1896.]     BATH   AND  WEST  SHOW,   ST.   ALBANS         123 

start  next  year's  attack.  I  do  not  know  whether  the  ground 
growths  would  permit  of  anything  hke  paring  being  done 
under  the  trees.  The  best  way  would  be  ''sticky  banding"  in 
October.  At  the  Toddington  fruit  grounds  one  year  120,000 
trees  were  sticky  banded,  but  still  this  is  work  on  an 
enormous  scale.  These  are  the  main  points  to  work  on,  and 
I  should  be  very  much  pleased  to  enter  on  any  of  them 
more  in  detail,  but  just  now  I  am  writing  as  soon  as  I  can 
(before  going  to  church),  as  with  Sunday  and  Bank  Holiday 
posts  I  am  afraid  this  letter  will  not,  at  the  earliest,  reach 
you  until  Tuesday  morning,  so  please  excuse  such  hastily 
written  lines. 

April  6,  1896. 

Now  I  am  working  on  my  Exhibit  of  Economic  Ento- 
mology for  the  Bath  and  West  of  England  Society  Show  at 
St.  Albans.  I  think  you  will  perhaps  like  to  look  at  the 
enclosed  set  of  labels  for  the  cases.i  There  are  only  a  few 
lines  to  be  fixed  outside  each.  In  the  catalogue  there  is  a 
fuller  account,  with  prevention  and  remedy.  Is  it  not  a 
triumph  of  condensation  to  get  a  little  life  history  and  pre- 
vention and  remedy  of  Wireworm  into  about  half  a  dozen 
lines  ?  But  really  there  is  enough  if  people  would  mind  it. 
I  try  to  give  injured  material  wherever  I  can,  and  there  are 
upwards  of  sixty  infestations.  Georgiana  helps  me  with 
twenty  diagrams — more  beautiful  than  any  of  her  previous 
ones — and  the  Council,  who  are  very  kind,  have  awarded  us 
all  the  privileges  of  stewards  and  members  of  Council  for 
the  Show,  so  that  we  may  have  every  convenience  of  transit 
there. 

It  gave  me  great  pleasure  to  be  appointed  External 
Examiner  in  Agricultural  Entomology  at  Edinburgh  Uni- 
versity— for  besides  enjoying  such  a  great  compliment  it 
will  help  my  work. 

May  30,  1896. 

N.B.  Confidential,  I  want  to  tell  you  how  kind  and  nice 
the  Prince  and  Princess  were  at  the  Show.  T.R.H. 
shook  hands  when  they  arrived,  quite  heartily,  and  when  I 
had  explained  my  own  and  my  sister's  exhibit  I  thought  I 
was  to  retire,  but  I  found  I  was  to  attend  round  the  other 
exhibits  in  the  building,  so  I  walked  on  by  the  Princess — 

*  See  Appendix  C. 

*  ^  ,      >:<  :;=  >;;  ::j 

sample  of  the  scrap  notes  left  by  miss  ormerod  (see  page  opposite) 
relating  to  the  great  water  beetle  recognised  by  the  prince  of 
wales,  now  king  edward  vii.,  at  st.  albans'  show. 


124  LETTERS  TO    MR.    BAILEY        [Chap.  xiv. 

just  think,  at  the  head  of  the  Royal  party,  before  the  Prince 
and  all  of  them  !  When  we  had  gone  round  the  Prince 
said,  ^'  Now,  I  think  we  must  be  going,"  and  he  shook 
hands  again,  and  the  Princess,  who  was  a  little  ahead, 
turned  back  and  shook  hands  also.  I  was  told  by  one  of 
the  officials  that  the  Prince  expressed  himself  afterwards  as 
much  interested,  and  my  informant  had  told  the  Prince 
that  I  was  doing  work  in  this  country  which  was  done  in 
other  countries  by  the  State.  H.R.H.  was  so  interested 
about  the  warbles  that  he  called  up  Lord  Clarendon 
to  look  at  the  great  photo  of  the  warbled  red  deer's  hide 
too,  and  we  had  quite  a  chat  together. 


FIG.   II. — WATER  BEETLE,   DYTISCUS  MARGINALIS,   LINN. 

June  15,  1899. 

I  had  great  pleasure  in  receiving  your  very  kind  letter,  and 
I  thought  a  great  deal  of  you,  and  your  flock,  on  the  prize 
day.  But  now  I  am  troubling  you  (the  idea  occurred  too 
late  to  be  of  use  at  the  time),  to  ask  whether  you  would  at 
all  care  to  have  (say)  ten  copies  of  my*' Manual  of  Injurious 
Insects,"  to  give  just  as  you  may  think  fit  as  an  encourage- 
ment to  the  boys — or  perhaps  a  present  here  or  there  to  one 
who  might  be  leaving  school  and  taking  up  farming.  I 
should  like  it  very  much.  You  have  it  yourself  and  (I 
think  ?)  one  for  the  school  library,  and  Mr.  D.  E.  Byrd 
must  have  his  father's  copy,  but  if  you  cared  to  have  some 
copies  it  would  really  give  me  very  great  pleasure.  Though 
fruit-insect  prevention  has  made  great  advances  in  the  last 
few  years,  this  is  not  a  special  Cheshire  interest,  the  agri- 
cultural observations  are  very  correct  still. 

Mr.  D.  E.  Byrd  has  kindly  given  me  some  very  good 


1899.]       WATER   BEETLE   AND   CHEESE   FLY 


125 


information  about  Cheese-fly  maggot  attack,  just  precisely 
what  I  was  wishing  for,  and  also  something  of  the  principle 
of  prevention.  Mr.  Ward  [Organising  Secretary  of  the 
Cheshire  County  Council]  was  kind  enough  to  procure  me 
some  good  information  from  Miss  Forster  [of  the  Cheshire 
Dairy  School],  and  I  hope  to  form  a  good  paper  by  and  by. 
All  I  really  want  now  in  this  matter  are  a  few  of  the  ^*  hop- 
ping "  maggots,  which  most  likely  will  turn  up  soon. 
Curiously  enough,  just  at  the  time,  I  had  an  application 
from  a  bacon-curing  Co.  and  I  think  we  have  on  both 
sides  benefited. 


I,  Fly  ;  2,  pupa  ;  3,  pupa-case  ;  4,  maggot— all  magnified, 
with  lines  showing  natural  length  ;  5,  tail  extremity,  still 
more  magnified,  showing  spiracles,  tracheae,  and  caudal 
tubercles. 

FIG.    12. — CHEESE  AND   BACON   FLY,  PIOFHILA    CASE/,    LINN. 


August  5,  1899. 

I  now,  with  many  thanks  for  the  clearness  with  which  you 
have  been  good  enough  to  note  precisely  the  form  of  the 
presentation  labels,  enclose  twelve,  only  altering  by  adding 
to  the  slips  for  the  three  boys,  the  prefix  of  *^  Mr."  I  am 
sure  they  will  like  it.  I  fancy  I  see  them  surreptitiously 
turning  to  the  donatory  slip,  to  enjoy  their  rise  !  Very 
many  thanks  to  you  indeed.  I  hope  it  may  give  the 
recipients  pleasure,  but  I  am  very  sure  you  give  great 
pleasure  to  myself  by  allowing  my  little  remembrance  to 
these  kind  helpers. 

I  am  sure  you  will  be  interested  to  know  that  the  Meat 


126  LETTERS  TO   MR.   BAILEY        [Chap.  xiv. 

Traders  Associations — at  the  Royal  Lancashire  Show — are 
distributing  thousands  of  my  Warble  leaflets,  with  free  leave 
to  write  up  to  London  for  more. 

March  2,  1900. 

Many  thanks  to  you  for  your  very  kind  letter.  Indeed  it 
is  a  trouble  to  me  that  I  am  not  able  to  write  oftener,  but 
nobody  knows  better  than  yourself  (who  are  so  burdened 
with  work  for  the  good  of  others)  how  hard  work  can  be, 
and  if  I  quite  overwork  I  am  ill,  so  I  am  afraid  to  do  all  I 
wish. 

Thank  you  for  your  kind  congratulations.  I  take  it  as  a 
very  great  honour  for  the  University  of  Edinburgh  to  give 
me  a  Doctor  of  Laws  Degree,  &c.,  &c.,  &c.  I  am  a  little 
anxious  about  making  such  a  very  public  appearance,  but  I 
dare  say  it  will  not  be  so  alarming  when  it  comes  to  the 
point.  But  I  do  not  wish  to  go  out  of  my  own  quiet 
lines,  and  I  do  not  certainly  wish  to  be  called  ^'  Doctor." 
Would  not  the  right  thing  be  for  me  to  just  put  LL.D.  after 
my  name  where  desirable  ? 

TORRINGTON    HoUSE,   St.    AlBANS, 

April  26,  1 90 1. 

My  dear  Mr.  Bailey, — I  have  postponed  replying  to 
your  kind  letter  partly  because  I  have  had  a  long  exhausting 
illness,  and  partly  because  I  am  sure  that  you  will  regret 
the  subject  of  my  letter,  as  I  do  myself.  Still  I  think  I 
ought  to  tell  you  that  I  am  purposing  quite  to  discontinue 
my  regular  entomological  work.  You  would  notice  what 
I  said  about  the  Annual  Reports,  but  the  attention  to 
insect  inquiries  and  (almost  worse)  the  requests  for  co- 
operation in  philanthropic  literary  schemes  had  become  a 
burthen  so  very  injurious  to  me  that  I  was  warned  both  by 
my  doctor  and  literary  colleagues  that  without  rest  the  con- 
sequences might  be  very  serious.  All  last  year  my  health 
was  failing,  and  (though  this  is  temporary)  an  attack  of 
influenza  early  in  March,  followed  by  what  are  called 
"  effects,"  has  caused  me  great  suffering. 

But  it  is  in  reference  to  our  long,  kindly  colleagueship 
that  I  am  writing  to  you.  Natural  history  is  on  a  very 
different  footing  now  from  what  it  was  in  1884,  when  with 
your  good  help  our  good  lads  started  the  investigations 
regarding  Warble,  which  have  proved  to  the  whole  world 
the  possibility  of  checking  this  wasteful  attack,  and  I  may 
add  they  have  carried  the  work  on  with  their  own  steady, 
patient,  long-continued  energy.  To  this  I  must  add  my 
great  appreciation  of  their  useful  work  in  real  serviceable 


I90I.]  PARTIAL   RETIREMENT  127 

Economic  Entomology,  and  the  kindliness  and  heartiness 
of  their  work. 

But  now  yourself,  your  school  and  your  scholars  have 
a  world-wide  name,  and  as  you  will  fully  appreciate  that 
to  continue,  however  much  I  may  wish  it,  publicly  attached 
to  any  one  philanthropic  economic  work  throws  me  open 
still  to  whole  hosts  of  applications,  I  am  sure  you  will 
understand  my  wish  to  withdraw.  You  have  I  think  my 
subscription  for  your  next  great  June  day,  and  after  that  I, 
with  much  regret,  purpose  to  discontinue  it.  I  look  back 
on  many  years'  kindly  communication  from  you,  but  if  you 
could  have  any  idea  of  the  labour  which  has  been  thrown 
on  me  from  other  quarters,  I  am  sure  you  would  think  I  am 
right.  I  earnestly  and  sincerely  beg  you  to  believe  me  with 
feelings  of  the  highest  esteem  and  friendship  and  every 
good  wish.  Yours  sincerely, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormp:rod. 

P.S. — Please  to  excuse  handwriting,  as  I  am  on  my  sofa. 


CHAPTER  XV 

LETTERS   TO   MR.   D.    D.   GIBB 

Great  Tortoiseshell  Butterfly — The   Forest  Fly — Numerous  other  fly-pests 
and  fly-parasites — A  few  Moths. 

The  subjoined  letters  to  Mr.  Gibb  are  unique  in  that  they 
deal  with  a  wider  range  of  subjects  than  any  of  Miss 
Ormerod's  letters  to  other  British  observers.  She  recognised 
and  appreciated  her  correspondent's  accuracy  of  observa- 
tion, and  gratefully  acknowledged  the  assistance  she  received 
through  the  numerous  specimens  he  so  promptly  collected 
for  her  when  in  need. 

To  D.  D.  Gibb,  Esq.,  Assembly  Manor  Farm,  Lymington.^ 

TORRINGTON    HOUSE,   ST.  AlBANS, 

J^une  26,  1894. 
Dear  Sir, — I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  kindly 
sparing  time  to  let  me  have  your  careful  observations 
received  this  morning,  together  with  the  specimens  of  the 
Great  Tortoiseshell  butterfly,  Vanessa  polychloros,  infestation. 
I  have  been  very  carefully  noting,  measuring  and  counting, 
so  as  to  secure  details,  and  presently  I  think  with  your  own 
observations  these  will  form  a  very  serviceably  interesting 
paper.  That  patch  of  eggshells  contained  over  three 
hundred  eggs,  as  near  as  I  could  count  by  taking  numbers 
in  length  and  breadth.  Your  two  caterpillars  had  been 
over  hasty  in  their  arrangements,  and  changed  to  chrysalis 
on  the  journey,  and  consequently  made  not  a  good  business 
of  it,  but  one  of  those  you  sent  me  previously,  having 
better  surroundings  had  done  its  work  thoroughly  well,  and 
is  a  very  beautiful  specimen  which  I  hope  will  develop.     I 

^  Now  "  Kirkdale,"  Spencer  Road,  Bournemouth. 
128 


1894.] 


TORTOISE-SHELL  BUTTERFLIES 


129 


propose  to  have  a  good  figure  engraved   of  the  butterfly, 
chrysaHs  and  caterpillar. 

All  your  other  notes  I  have  also  read  with  much  interest, 
especially  those  on  turnip  management,  and  your  remarks 
about  ^'warble,"  and  in  due  time  I  shall  be  much 
obliged  ,by  being  allowed  to  use  these  in  my  next  Annual 
Report. 

Jw/y  27,  1894. 

I  am  very  much  pleased  to  hear  that  you  have  hatched 
two  of  the  Large  Tortoiseshell  butterflies  from  your 
specimens.     This  is   very   interesting   as  completing   your 


£  c./r: 


Caterpillar  and  chrysalis,  natural  size  ;  branched  spine  from 
caterpillar,  magnified. 

FIG.    13.— GREAT   TORTOISE-SHELL   BUTTERFLY,    VANESSA   POLYCHLOROS,    L. 


previous  observation,  and  I  am  particularly  glad  of  this  note 
of  date  of  development  for  I  am  afraid  that  the  only  really 
good  chrysalis  which  I  secured  from  your  larvae  does  not 
seem  likely  to  develop.  However,  it  gave  me  an  opportunity 
of  seeing  the  beautiful  colours  and  the  six  bright  mother- 
of-pearl-like  spots  on  the  back.  Many  thanks  for  kindly 
offering  me  a  specimen,  but  I  should  not  like  to  take  it — for 
it  is  of  special  interest  with  you  to  illustrate  this  rare  attack, 
and  also  it  is  very  difficult  to  ensure  safety  in  transmis- 
sion. Many  thanks  all  the  same,  and  also  for  your  Hessian 
fly   specimens    received   a   short    time    ago,    and    for   the 

10 


130  LETTERS  TO   MR.   GIBB  [Chap.  xv. 

further  notes  now.  I  am  sorry  not  to  have  acknowledged 
them  and  the  information  in  the  letter  accompanying  them 
sooner,  but  I  had  a  deal  of  work,  and  some  temporary 
difficulty  from  breaking  a  blood-vessel  in  one  eye.  How- 
ever I  am  thankful  to  say  that  is  all  right  again. 

I  have  no  doubt  you  are  right  about  the  weather  making 
a  most  important  amount  of  difference  in  extent  of  injury 
both  from  Hessian  fly  and  Diamond-back  attack.  If  it  had 
been  hot  I  am  afraid  Plutella  cruciferarmn  (Diamond-back 
moth)  would  have  done  a  deal  of  mischief.  The  little 
Charlock  weevil,  Cetitorhynchiis  contractus  (see  my  seven- 
teenth, 1890,  report),  has  been  doing  a  great  deal  of  mischief 


In  usual  position,  and  also  with  wings  expanded — magnified  ; 
also  natural  size. 

FIG.    14.— CHARLOCK   WEEVIL,    CEUTORHYNCHUS  COATRACTUS. 

to   young  turnips   at  some  places  on  the  east  side  of  the 
country. 

July  30,  1894. 
The  V.  polychloros  specimen  came  to  hand  little,  if  at  all, 
injured  by  its  journey,  and  in  beautiful  order  for  figuring. 
I  am  very  glad  to  have  it,  for  besides  proving  the  caterpillars 
to  be  of  the  "  great  tortoiseshell,"  1  had  the  opportunity  of 
seeing  the  row  of  long  bristles  or  stout  hairs  about  a  third 
along  the  lower  part  of  the  front  edge  (the  costa)  of  the 
fore-wings.  This  row  of  hairs  is  the  structural  difference 
between  this  ''great  tortoiseshell,"  and  the  ''small  tortoise- 
shell  "  (which  is  without  them),  but  otherwise  the  two  species 
are  so  much  alike  that  there  used  to  be  doubts  whether  they 


1894.] 


HESSIAN    FLY 


131 


were  not  merely  varieties  until  this  point  was  noticed  by  a 
Dutch  entomologist,  Mr.  Snellen.  I  shall  be  glad  to  refer 
to  this  point,  for  it  is  important  and  was  observed  after  our 
chief  manuals  of  Lepidopiera  were  published. 

On  referring  to  your  letter  accompanying  the  Hessian  fly 
puparia,  '^  flax-seeds,"  in  which  you  notice  some  of  them 
being  within  the  stalks,  I  remembered  I  had  not  precisely 
replied  to  this  part,  so  I  do  it  now^  I  think  this  position, 
though  not  characteristic,  is  not  very  uncommon,  and  is 
caused  by  a  weakness  of  the  stem.     I  have  from  time  to 


Natural  size  and  magnified. 


I,  Anchor-process  of  larva  of  Cecidomyia  destructor ;  2,  of  Cecidomyia 
/nV/d— magnified  ;  "  flax-seeds,"  or  puparia,  in  different  stages  of 
development,  natural  size  and  magnified. 

FIG    15.— HESSIAN   FLY,   CECIDOMYIA   DESTRUCTOR. 


time  found  the  stem  cracked  longitudinally  and  the  ^^  flax- 
seed "  partly  slipped  into  the  cavity. 

August  22,  1894. 
I  have  to-day  had  a  request  from  Dr.  Ritzema  Bos  for 
some  specimens  of  Hessian  fly  puparia  in  situ  or  otherwise. 
If  you  could  do  it  without  inconvenience,  could  you  oblige 
me  w^ith  some  ''  flax-seeds  "  if  you  come  on  them  at  threshing 
time  ;  and  you  will  be  good  enough  to  let  me  have  also  a 
few  pieces  of  barley  or  wheat  steni  just  three  or  four  inches 
long  with  the  flax  seed  still  adhering. 


132 


LETTERS  TO    MR.    GIBB 


[Chap.  xv. 


I  hope  you  are  having  good  harvest  weather,  but  indeed 
this  is  the  first  really  good  bright  summer's  day  we  have 
had  for  a  long  time,  and  to  my  eye  the  wheat  round  here 
has  a  grey  look  instead  of  the  bright  colour. 

August  28,  1894. 
Your  packet  of  infested  straw  came  safely  to  hand  this 
morning  and  I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  kindly  taking 
all  this  trouble.     I   have  repacked  the   Hessian  fiy  straws, 


EO 


FIG.   16. — YOUNG    WHEAT,   WITH     HESSIAN 
FLY    MAGGOT    AT    "  rt." 

(After  Prof.  Webster.) 


I,  Straw  bent  over  ;    2,  showing 
"  flax-seeds." 

HESSIAN   FLY  ATTACK  ON   BARLEY. 


winding  a  thread  over  the  place  of  deposit  of  the  puparia  on 
the  barley  straw  for  fear  they  should  get  from  under  the 
sheathing  leaf  and  be  lost.  I  am  sure  Dr.  Ritzema  Bos  will 
be  very  grateful  for  the  help,  and  also  for  its  coming  so 
promptly. 

Thank  you  also  for  the  Chlorops  (Gout  fly)  specimens  ; 
they  were  particularly  acceptable  just  now,  for,  if  all  is  well. 
Professor  Riley  means  to  look  in  early  next  week  before  he 
returns  to  the  U.S.A.,  and  I  think  he  would  like  to  see  them. 


i895.] 


GOUT    FLY 


133 


April  26,  1895. 
If  I  am  not  troublesome  I  should  be  very  greatly  obliged 
if  you  would  tell  me  anything  as  to  the  methods 
commonly  used  for  keeping  off  attacks  of  the  Forest  fly, 
Hippobosca  equina,  which  is  such  a  special  pest  in  the 
New  Forest  to  horses  not  used  to  it.  I  mean  the  thick  made 
fly  of  which  I  enclose  a  figure  (18),  natural  size  and  magnified, 
which  deposits  an  egg-like  puparium  or  chrysalis  case  in  the 
hair  of  the  horses,  from  which  case  the  fly  presently  comes 
out.     I  believe  you  will  know  exactly  the  infestation  I  refer 


<QTnTn:?> 


Nos.  1-6  and  11  and  12,  Gout  fly,  grub,  and  pupa — natural  size  and 
magnified  ;  with  infested  stem ;  7,  8,  9  and  10,  parasitic  ichneumon 
flies,  natural  size  and  magnified. 


FIG.  17. 


-GOUT  FLY,   RIBBON-FOOTED  CORN  FLY,   CHLOROPS   TMNIOPUS^ 
MEIGEN.' 


to,  and  any  information  which  you  may  be  good  enough  to 
give  me,  as  to  how  to  prevent  it  coming  at  horses  and 
settling  on  them,  I  know  would  be  quite  sound  and  reliable. 
I  am  receiving  so  much  application  for  information  about 
the  habits,  &c.,  &c.,  that  I  feel  sure  my  best  plan  will  be  to 
issue  a  leaflet  as  soon  as  possible  with  figure  included  at  the 
heading.     I  have,  I  think  I  may  say,  far  more  in  the  way  of 

^  The  attack  is  caused  by  the  small  black  and  yellow  fly,  figured  above. 
She  lays  an  ^gg  on  the  barley  sheath  ;  the  maggot  from  this  attacks  the 
ear,  then  eats  a  channel  down  one  side  of  the  stem  to  the  first  knot,  and 
then  turns  to  chrysalis  state  within  the  leaves. — (E.  A.  O.) 


134 


LETTERS  TO   MR.   GIBB.  [Chap.  xv. 


description  and  nature  of  the  fly  than  can  be  needed,  but  it 
would  help  me  very  much  indeed  to  have  a  recipe  for  any 
application  which  was  really  known  to  answer  in  keeping 
the  attack  off  riding  horses.  I  am  sure  you  would  allow 
me  to  add  this  to  my  leaflet,  acknowledged  to  you.  I  make 
no  doubt  quantities  of  things,  especially  of  the  nature  of 
soap  or  soft  soap  (not  caustic)  or  lard,  and  a  little  paraffin 
or  sulphur,  would  with  careful  attention  keep  the  flies  from 
congregating  permanently,  but  the  thing  in  hand  is  to 
prevent  them  coming  at  the  horses  and  causing  dismal 
downfalls  !  I  have  heard  lately  of  a  plan  of  rubbing  horses 
with  paraffin — very  efficacious,  I  should  expect,  but  not  the 
thing  to  benefit  the  clothes  of  the  riders  1 


I  and  2,  natural  size  and  magnified  from  life  ;  3,  pupa  removed  from 
puparium  (after  Reaumur)  ;  puparium,  natural  size  and  magnified,  before 
complete  coloration. 

FIG.    18. — FOREST   FLY,   HIPPOBOSCA   EQUINA. 


Wednesday  night,  May  i,  1895. 
I  am  exceedingly  obliged  to  you  for  your  most  helpful 
letter  and  the  live  specimen,  which  I  learnt  a  great  deal 
from,  before  we  re-captured  it,  and  stopped  its  activity  with 
some  benzine.  It  slipped  out  of  my  fingers  somehow,  out 
of  your  careful  packing,  and  kept  flying  at  my  light  woollen 
shawl,  varied  by  taking  a  promenade  (which  I  was  very 
conscious  of)  on  the  top  of  my  head.  It  struck  me  as 
suggestive  that  it  selected  me  (not  my  sister  or  our  house- 
keeper) for  this  purpose,  because  I  never  use  any  kind  of 
pomatum.  I  like  my  hair  as  smooth  as  can  be,  so  the  creature 
did  not  establish  itself,  but  judging  by  feeling,  it  had  much 


i895.] 


GREAT   OX   GADFLY 


135 


pleasure  in  its  survey.     I  noticed  the  set  of  the  wings,  and 
perhaps  I  can  get  a  figure. 

When  the  flies  are  more  plentiful,  so  that  it  would  not 
give  you  too  much  trouble  to  secure  some,  I  certainly 
should  like  two  or  three  very  much,  but  please  do  not  let 
me  intrude  too  much  on  your  good  nature  and  time.  I 
will  write  again  presently  to  say  how  I  am  getting  on  with 


mmmmm»m 


Fly,  with  wings  expanded  ;  also  viewed  sideways. 
Larva  and  pupa,  after  De  Geer. 

FIG,    19. — GREAT  OX   GADFLY,    TABANUS  BOVINUS,    LINN. 


the  leaflet,  but  I  did  not  like  to  delay  thanking  you  heartily 
longer  than  I  could. 

May  10,  1895. 

I  am  very  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  all  the  information 

in  your  letter,  and  also  for  the  four  live  and  hearty  flies. 

These  have  been  very  valuable  to  me,  and  I  cannot  help 

thinking  I  have  discovered  a  point  not  previously  observed 


136  LETTERS  TO   MR.   GIBB.  [Chap.  xv. 

in  the  structure  of  the  feet  which  may  prove  of  importance 
practically.  However  it  may  have  been  known,  so  I  have 
written  to-day  to  our  great  English  authority,  Mr.  Meade, 
to  ask  him  what  he  thinks  about  it  and  will  write  you  again. 
I  fancy  that  your  specimen's  being  so  fresh  allowed  me  to 
make  out  the  point.     Still  I  may  be  wrong. 

P.S. — I  was  told  yesterday  that  a  worse  trouble  in  the 
forest  than  the  Forest  fly  is  the  '^ Great  Gadfly"  the  Tabanus 
bovinus.  Do  you  think  this  is  so  ?  This  fly  is  such  a  very 
large  creature  indeed,  see  figure  (19)  of  it  with  wings  laid  at 
rest  and  expanded.  I  should  have  expected  to  hear  of  it 
before  now. 

May  20,  1895. 

I  received  the  first  copies  of  my  Forest  Fly  leaflet  late 
on  Saturday  and  now  enclose  you  a  few  with  great  pleasure. 
Please  tell  me  if  more  would  be  acceptable,  as  you  know 


Magnified  (after  Railliet). 

(a)   CLEG,   OR  SMALL  (6)   AUTUMNAL  BREEZE  (c)   SMALL  BLINDING 

RAIN  BREEZE  FLY.  FLY.  BREEZE  FLY. 

FIG.   20. — BREEZE   FLIES:   (o)   HMMATOPOTA   PLUVIALIS.      (6)    TABANUS 
AUTUMN ALIS.      (c)   CHRYSOPS    CMCUTIENS. 

how  gladly  I  would  send  them,  and  you  have  helped  me 
most  importantly.  I  have  only  had  a  moderate  impression 
struck  in  order  that  I  might  be  able  to  alter  or  add  as 
seemed  desirable. 

I  thought  a  deal  of  what  I  could  manage,  as  the  flies  came 
at  me  and  I  could  watch  them,  but  I  did  not  see  my  way 
at  all  to  making  a  more  useful  figure  than  that  by  Dr. 
Taschenberg,  which  tells  little.  Mine  is  after  the  figure  by 
Professor  Westwood  drawn  for  the  plates  of  ^*  Insecta 
Britannica — Diptera,"    and     these     are     regular     standard 

reference  plates. 

July  I,  1895. 
We  have  really  captured  some  of  the  Hippobosca  equina  in 
North  Wales.     The  account  will  be  in  next  number  of  the 
*'  Veterinary   Record."     I   have  identified  them  with   quite 


i«95-] 


SADDLE   FLY 


137 


absolute  certainty,   but  I  suppose  1  must  not  forestall  the 
''  Veterinary  Record/'  as  it  sent  me  the  flies. 

'July  II  or  12,  1895. 
I  am  very  much  obliged  for  your  further  consignment 
of  the  Tabanidce  (Horse  gadflies),  and  especially  for  the 
liberal  supply  of  the  Great  gadfly  (fig.  ig).  What  a  very 
grand  fellow  he  is,  and  how  very  painful  the  attack  must 
be.  I  have  to-day  written  to  Mr.  R.  H.  Meade  about  this 
great  variety  of  Gadflies  which  you  are  letting  me  have, 
and  offering  to  send  him  dupHcates. 


Red  maggot  attack  on  a  stem  of  barley  ;  and  a  saddle,  magnified. 

FIG.   21.— SADDLE   FLY,   ?   CECIDOMYIA   [DIPLOSIS)   EQUESTRIS. 


Many  thanks  also  for  first,  and  as  yet  only,  note  of 
presence  of  Hessian  fly  this  season.  About  these  curious 
markings  on  the  side  of  the  straw — are  they  not  very  like 
those  of  the  maggots,  ^^  red  maggots,"  of  the  Diplosis  eqiiestriSy 
the  Cecidomyia  or  Great  midge,  mentioned  in  my  thirteenth 
Report,  at  p.  30  ?  I  think  you  have  this  report,  and  if  you 
chanced  to  have  leisure  to  compare  some  specimens  with 


138  LETTERS  TO   MR.   GIBB  [Chap.  xv. 

my  sketch,  you  would  see  what  you  thought.  The  workings 
do  not  seem  to  me  as  regular,  but  yet  there  is  a  strong 
resemblance. 

I  am  working  up  the  Gadflies  as  well  as  time  allows,  and 
through  courtesy  of  Mr.  Janson  have  had  a  loan  of  a 
volume  published  in  1842  of  a  serial  called  "Isis"  so  as 
to  be  able  to  study  the  very  special  paper  in  it  by  Zeller, 
which  is  the  authority  on  some  of  the  important  points,  and 
which  cannot  now  be  bought  by  itself.  I  thought  this  was 
a  kind  help,  for  the  whole  book  is  very  costly. 

yw/ySi,  1895. 

I  have  a  promise  from  Professor  Mik,  who  is  a  special 
authority  on  flies,  that  when  he  returns  to  Vienna  he  will 
let  me  have  such  duplicates  of  the  Tahanidce  as  he  has, 
which  will  be  a  great  help.  I  have  had  an  artist  down  from 
London  who  has  made  most  beautiful  drawings  for  en- 
graving of  the  fly's  foot  (pis.  xxiii.  xxiv.),  but  I  greatly 
want  some  dissections  made  of  it,  and  I  have  only  this 
morning  heard  where  I  could  get  this  minute  work  done. 
Would  you  mind  the  trouble  of  once  again  letting  me  have 
two  or  three  Forest  flies  ?  I  should  be  very  much  obliged, 
for  though  I  keep  the  specimens  most  carefully  that  you 
let  me  have,  some  quite  fresh  would  answer  much  better  fo 
dissection. 

It  is  very  curious  that  until  Mr.  Goodall  (a  highly 
accomplished  veterinary  surgeon)  noticed  the  long  bristle 
attached  to  the  H.  equina  foot,  no  one  except  that  wonderful 
observer  De  Geer  appears  to  have  noticed  it,  or  what  is 
perhaps  still  more  astonishing,  repeated  De  Geer's  observa- 
tion and  figure. 

August  13,  1895. 

I  am  much  obliged  by  your  letter  of  the  8th  inst.  with 
observations  of  the  effect  of  temperature  and  weather  on 
presence  of  Forest  fly,  and  now  again  this  morning,  and 
very  much,  for  the  supply  of  Forest  flies,  which  were  alive 
1  should  say  by  the  grumbling  in  the  corn-stem,  until  I 
chloroformed  them. 

Your  *' black  ants"  appear  to  me  to  be  Formica  fuligi- 
nosa,  of  which  it  is  stated  in  Frederick  Smith's  British 
Museum  Catalogue  of  British  Fossorial  Hymenoptera  [bur- 
rowing four-winged  insects],  p.  11,  that  "this  species  is  at 
once  recognised  by  its  jet-black  colour  ;  its  usual  habitat  is 
the  vicinity  of  a  decaying  tree  or  old  post."  I  only  twice 
met  with  this  kind  in  my  father's  woods,  each  time,  curiously 
enough,  one  of  my  brothers  who  had  a  great  fondness  for 


PLATE    XXill 


West, Newman  lilli. 


Horace  Knight  ad  nal  del . 

Foot  of  Forest  Fly  (Hippobosca  Q^XL\TiQ,,Liri7z.) 


PLATE    XXIV. 


)(Mi(i#iw. 


Horace  Knaghl  adnat.del. 


West, Newman  lith 


Foot  of  Forest  Fly  (Hippobosca  q^miiiq.. Linn.) 
Seen  from  above  g reatly  magnified. 

Tofacep.ldS. 


I895-] 


FOREST    FLY 


139 


ornithology  saw  the  Hoopoe.  As  this  rare  bird  is  stated  to 
have  a  fondness  for  this  special  kind  of  ant  I  conjectured 
its  presence  was  caused  by  the  ftillginosa  being  present. 
Their  workings  were  wonderfully  destructive  in  the  felled 
stump  which  they  chose  for  headquarters.  I  certainly  think 
you  need  no  advice  from  me  on  the  head  of  dealing  with 
them,  but  it  just  occurred  to  me  that,  if  they  come  in  a 
definite  line  still,  and  you  could  not  run  them  up  to  their 
starting  point,  it  might  answer  to  put  a  couple  of  half- 
decayed  stumps  across  their  line  of  march.  Might  they  not 
adopt  the  suggested  new  settlement  ? 

I  am  getting  on  with  the  Forest  fly  and  lately  I  have  been 
studying  the  claws.     I  have  only  just  discovered  that  along 


Much  magnified. 


FIG.  22.— FOOT  OF  FOREST  FLY,  HIPPOBOSCA  EQUINA,  SHOWING 
DOUBLE  CLAWS,  CENTRAL  PROCESS,  AND  LONG  PRICKLY  BRISTLE  ; 
ALSO  PORTION  OF  SIDE  OF  CLAW  OF  HIPPOBOSCA  MACULATA,  SHOWING 
PARALLEL  GROOVES   AND   SAW-EDGE. 


the  lower  part  of  the  large-curved  claw  is  a  saw-toothed 
edge,  and  to  this  the  slanting  grooves  which  I  had  previously 
noticed  run  down  one  furrow  to  each  notch  so  as  to  give  an 
enormous  power  of  holding  and  tearing.  I  think  the  thumb 
claw  is  also  to  some  degree  furnished  both  with  saw-  and 
file-like  markings  (fig.  22). 

P.S.  I  can  only  see  the  saw  and  file  mark  with  a  good 
side  light,  when  the  claw  is  examined  in  natural  state,  not 
in  balsam. 


140 


LETTERS  TO   MR.   GIBB  [Chap,  xv 


jf^une  20,  1896. 
I  was  very  glad  to  have  your  note  of  first  capture  of  Hippo- 
hosca  (Forest  fly)  on  May  6th.  I  wonder  whether  on  your 
Red  Deer  (or  Roe  Deer,  if  you  have  them)  you  find  the  Deer 
Forest  fly,  the  Lipoptena  cervi.  I  am  having  a  deal  of  com- 
munication about  it  as  having  been  observed  as  a  very 
noticeable  infestation  on  Deer  in  one  locality  in  the  North 
of  Scotland.  I  beheve  it  is  troublesome  to  people  moving 
in  the  parts  it  frequents,  but  the  odd  thing  about  it  is,  that 
whilst  the  females  are  considered  (or  conjectured,  for  it  is 
not  quite  certain)  to  be  always  wingless,  yet  the  male  flies 
are  developed  with  wings  and  drop  them,  something  like 
ants,  on  settling  on  a  host  animal.     It  would  be  very  inter- 


I,  Leg  and  base  of  wing  ;  2,  base  of  wing  ;  3,  abortive  wing  ; 
5,  female  fiiy,  with  base  of  wings — all  much  magnified  ;  4,  pupa- 
rium,  much  magnified,  and  line  showing  natural  length. 


FIG.   2 


3.— DEER   FOREST  FLY   (FEMALE),   LIPOPTERA    CERVI,   VON 
SIEBOLD   AND   LOEW. 


esting  if  you  found  any  of  these  ;  they  come  very  near  the 
so-called  '^ Sheep  tick"  in  their  nature,  only  neither  male  nor 
female  of  the  *^  Sheep  Forest  flies  "  is  ever  winged.  It  is 
also  very  curious  that  from  some  unaccountable  confusion 
the  generic  name  has  gone  wrong  ;  it  seems  obvious  it 
should  be  Lipoptera,  "without  wings,"  but — it  is  supposed 
by  some  error  in  printing — Lipoptena,  which  has  no 
meaning  connected  with  the  fly,  has  got  substituted.  I 
think  it  would  be  well  presently  to  try  to  get  this  put  right. 


1895.]  DEER  FOREST  AND  SHEEP  SPIDER  FLIES   141 

August  29,  1895. 
I  am  writing  a  few  lines  to  mention  that  Mr.  Meade  has 
verified  my  identification  of  the  New  Forest  Tcxhanidce  for 
me  as  being  all  correct,  with  one  exception.     He  thinks  the 


With  wings  thrown  off  ;  also  still  retaining  wings  ;  and  wing — 
all  much  magnified.    Line  shows  natural  length. 

FIG.  24. — DEER   FOREST   FLY   (MALE),  LIPOPTENA   CERVJ,   VON 
SIEBOLD  AND   LOEW. 


glaucoptis  is  more  like  cognatus,  but  Brauer  of  Vienna  says 
the  latter  is  only  probably  a  variety  of  the  former,  so  this  is 
no  great  matter.  Mr.  Meade  is  not  only  an  eminently 
skilled  dipterist  himself,  but  he  also  possesses  a  collection  of 


Fly,  magnified,  with  line  showing  natural  length  ;  puparium, 
magnified  (showing  incrustation),  also  natural  size. 

FIG.   25.— SHEEP   SPIDER   FLY,    "  KED,"    OR    "  KADE," 
MELOPHAGUS  OVINUS,   LINN. 


the  Tahanidce  (our  British  kinds)  named  for  him  by  Dr. 
Brauer,  the  great  continental  authority.  So  now  we  stand 
on  a  very  firm  footing  (thanks  to  the  trouble  which  you 


142  LETTERS   TO   MR.   GIBB  [Chap.  xv. 

and  Mr.  Moens  were  good  enough  to  take  in  supplying  me 
with  fresh  specimens)  asto  the  species  of  these  bloodsucking 
pests  which  you  have  in  the  Forest.  Would  you  tell  Mr. 
Moens  about  this  when  you  see  him,  with  my  compliments 
and  thanks  ?  I  think  you  meet  sometimes.  I  am  longing 
to  hear  something  of  the  military  experiences. 

October  8,  1895. 
I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  your  letter  received 
this  morning,  and  (as  you  kindly  allow  me)  I  will  just  say 
what  I  should  particularly  like,  but  please  believe  me  I 
should  be  very  sorry  to  be  really  troublesome.  First,  about 
the  Hessian  fly  straw.  If  you  came  on  some  that  had  been 
infested  this  would  answer  excellently.  I  have  got  some 
"flax-seeds"  and  1  could  slip  some  in.  But  really  the 
''  elbowed  "  straw  (bent  over)  into  an  angle  (fig.  16)  is  what  I 
want  to  show.    I  have  excellent  Gout  specimens.   One  thing  I 


I  and  2,  young  and  full-grown  larvae  ;  3  and  4,  larvae  magnified  ; 
5,  female  beetle  flying  ;  6,  male  beetle,  slightly  magnified. 

FIG,   26.— BEET   CARRION   BEETLE,    SILPHA   OPACA,   LINN. 


should  particularly  like  is  a  little  bit  of  Mangold  leaf  (say  two 
or  three  inches  square)  showing  Mangold  maggot  blister. 
I  could  dry  this  in  blotting  paper  (like  my  pea-  bean-  and 
clover-leaf  injuries  from  Sitones)  and  with  a  good  supply  of 
Mangold  fly  and  pupae  which  I  have  got,  I  think  this  would 
be  very  nice.  I  have  good  grubs  of  Carrion  Beet  beetle, 
which  would  be  difficult  to  get,  and  I  think  plenty  of  the 
beetle  (or  at  hand),  but,  for  the  mangold,  if  I  could  get 
them,  I  should  very  much  like  some  of  the  Spotted  or  Black 
millepedes  which  were  such  pests  earlier  in  the  year.  I 
am  afraid  though  it  is  too  late  now.  The  only  other  thing 
which  I  am  very  much  wishing  for  is  a  good  specimen  of 
apple  twig,  injured  by  American  blight.     A  bit  from  six  to 


1895]  CENTIPEDES   AND   MILLEPEDES.  143 

nine  inches  long,  which  I  could  split  down,  would  suit  me 
very  nicely. 

I  may  mention  that  I  am  preparing  an  exhibit  for  the 
Bath  and  West  of  England  Agricultural  Society  Show  next 
May,  but  I  am  collecting  beforehand  to  be  sure.  This 
afternoon  I  have  arranged  a  nice  case  to  show  Bean  and  Pea 
seed  and  Leaf  weevil  injuries.  [See  Appendix  C  for  list  of 
cases  and  contents.] 

October  22,  1895. 

I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  the  very  acceptable  parcel 
of  specimens,  which  arrived  in  excellent  order  this  morning. 
Indeed  I  feel  very  much  indebted  to  you,  for  I  know  the 
trouble  it  takes  to  collect  and  pack  in  this  careful  way.  The 
Hessian  fly  wheat  was  particularly  acceptable  as  I  had  just 
two  or  three  old  straws,  but  this  to  freshen  them  up  (with 
the   insect   and  figures)   makes   a   beautiful   exhibit.     The 


I,  Jiilus  londincnsis ;  3,  Julus  guttatus  (pulchelhis,  Leach)  ;  4,  ^iiltis 
terrestris ;  5,  horn  ;  7,  Polydesmus  compianatus — all  magnified  ;  and 
2  and  6,  natural  size. 

FIG  27. — CENTIPEDES  AND  A  MILLEPEDE. 

mangold  leaves  are  also  a  great  help  ;  and  nothing  could  be 
more  characteristic  than  the  American  blight.  I  have  not 
fully  examined  the  contents  of  the  bottles,  but  I  see  some 
nice  Jiiliis  guttatus  (Snake  millepedes)  and  also  a  few  of  the 
long,  thin,  yellow,  electrical  centipedes,  which  I  shall  hope 
will  keep  their  colour  nicely  in  spirits.  Indeed  it  is  a  very 
welcome  contribution. 

I  have  been  ill  with  rather  a  bad  quinsy,  followed  by  some- 
thing going  wrong  with  my  mouth  and  tongue,  but  I  have 
nearly  recovered  now,  and  as  I  was  directed  to  keep  indoors, 
I  have  been  getting  on  with  the  cases. 

Besides  the  more  customary  crop  and  other  attacks,  I 
thought  such  things  as  liver-flukes  (in  spirit)  and  a  good 


144 


LETTERS   TO   MR.   GIBB 


[Chap.  xv. 


number  of  the  little  ^^  water  snails/'  Linwoea  truncatiila,  (such 
tiny  shells  !),  which  is  their  host  in  the  early  stage,  with 
figures  of  the  intermediate  conditions,  would  be  of  useful 
interest ;  also  a  couple  of  bottles  with  contents  of  sparrows' 
crops,  showing  the  great  amount  of  corn  they  eat,  as  well 
as  a  number  of  locusts  in  the  condition  in  which  they  are 
importad  in  lucerne  from  Buenos  Aires. 

November  26,  1895. 
This  sort  of  brickdust-like  deposit  is,  I  think,  eggs.     I  had 
a  quantity  of  it  sent  me  about  six  weeks  ago  by   a   fruit 
salesman  and  auctioneer  who  had  got  10,000  apple  trees 


Infested  apple  spray,  natural  size  ;    wingless  viviparous  female  and 

young    clothed    with    cottony    fibres    above  ;    and    small  egg-bearing 

female    beneath    the    spray  ;    pupa    with    little    cottony  growth — all 
magnified. 

FIG.   28.— AMERICAN   BLIGHT,   WOOLLY  APHIS,   SCHIZONEURA   LANIGERA, 

HAUSM. 


infested.  It  agrees  in  measurement  and  colour,  &c.,  with 
the  general  description  given  by  Mr.  Frazer  Crawford 
(of  Adelaide)  of  the  eggs  of  the  Red  spider,  Bryobia 
?  speciosaj  (fig.  52)  found  on  apple  in  South  Australia,  but  I 
do  not  think  we  can  be  quite  certain  of  its  nature  until  the 
contents  hatch.  About  ten  days  ago  I  thought  that  I  found 
fungi  developing  in  the  patches,  so  I  sent  a  good  supply  to 
Professor  M.  C.  Potter  (Botanical  Professor  of  Durham 
College  of  Science),  for  I  was  sure  whatever  he  would  say 
would  be  trustworthy.     He  wrote  me  that  there  was  fungus 


1896.]     RED   SPIDER   AND   OAK   LEAF   ROLLER       145 

amongst  the  red  spheres.  He  did  not  believe  that  they  were 
fungoid  ;  but  thought,Hkeme,  that  they  were  eggs.  Certainly 
you  are  right  in  considering  them  not  American  blight, 
although  on  one  of  the  twigs  you  have  sent  me  there  is  a 
swelled  cankered  piece  that  looks  very  much,  to  general 
observation,  like  that  attack.  1  wish  I  could  give  you  a  plain 
straightforward  answer,  but  the  above  is  the  best  I  can  tell 
you  at  present.  Mr.  Nixon,  whose  name  you  will  remember 
in  my  yearly  reports  connected  with  Red  spider,  says  that 
he  knows  this  ''  red  deposit "  well  and  does  not  think  it  does 
harm,  but  I  should  think  it  would  be  but  prudent  to  have 
some  soft  soap  mixture  or  antipest  at  hand,  against  hot 
sunshine  in  late  winter  days. 

Many  thanks  for  your  good  wishes,  which  I  heartily  reci- 


Moth  ;    caterpillars  hanging  by  their  threads,  slightly  larger  than  life 
rolled  oak-leaf. 

FIG.   29. — OAK    LEAF-ROLLER   MOTH,    TORTRIX   VIRIDANA. 


procate,  to  you  and  to  your  young  people.  I  cannot  say  I 
have  been  well.  However,  1  am  much  better,  but  we  are 
anxious,  for  my  only  remaining  brother  (who  is  nearly  eighty) 
had  a  stroke  of  palsy  last  year,  and  on  Sunday  he  had  a 
second,  but  he  is  not  suffering,  which  is  a  great  comfort. 

July  3,  1896. 

I  thank  you  very  much  for  taking  the  trouble  to  send  me 
this  good  supply  of  Tabanidce,  and  still  more  especially  for 
the  Forest  flies.  I  thought  these  were  all  dead,  but  whilst  I 
was  opening  the  bit  of  straw  in  which  you  pack  them  so 
cleverly,  they  began  to  tear  out  headlong — luckily  I  thought 
of  catching  the  whole  affair  together  in  my  closed  hand,  and 

II 


146 


LETTERS   TO   MR.   GIBB 


[Chap.  xv. 


then,  pouring  some  chloroform  in  between  my  fingers,  I  got 
them  all  safe. 

I  am  very  much  interested  about  this  poor  young  woman's 
death  from  poisoning  by  a  fly  or  insect  attack. ^  I  wish  it 
had  been  possible  to  secure  the  pest,  it  would  be  so  really 
useful  to  make  out  whether  the  evil  was  from  the  nature  of 
the  bite  or  sting,  or  whether  from  ill  health  or  other  cause 
the  sufferer  was  unusually  susceptible. 

December  14,  1896. 

I  am  troubling  you  with  a  few  lines  to  ask  whether  you 
would  kindly  tell  me  if  the  caterpillars  which  did  so  very 
much  harm  to  the  oak  leafage  in  your  neighbourhood  in 
May,  were  mostly  ''  loopers  "—or  the  dull,  dirty  green,  or 
leaden-coloured  larvae  of  the  Tortrix  viridana  (Oak  leaf- 
roller)  :  you  just  noted  the  very  great  amount  of  attack  to 
me,  in  your  letter  of  the  12th  of  May.  I  conjecture  they 
would   be   loopers    (?  Winter   or    Mottled   Umber   moth). 


(a)  Male  ;  and  wingless  females. 


{b)  Male  ;  and  wingless  female  ;  caterpillar. 


FIG.   30.— LOOPER   CATERPILLARS,    (rt)   WINTER   MOTH,   CHEIMATOBIA   BRUM  ATA,    LiNN. 
[b)   MOTTLED   UMBER   MOTH,   HYBERNIA   DEFOLIARIA,    LINN. 

for  you  note  that  ^'  the  moths  appeared  unusually  early,  and 
as  soon  as  the  bud  began  to  open,  the  little  caterpillars  were 
upon  them,"  and  I  think  you  would  be  referring  to  the  early 
appearance  last  autumn  of  the  Winter  moth.  But  a  note 
from  you  would  be  very  valuable.  I  am  wanting  to  make  a 
really  good  paper  on  ^^  Leafage  Caterpillars" — people  seem 
not  to  understand  that  though  the  remedies  we  know  of  can 
be  used  at  a  paying  rate  on  orchard  trees  that  we  can  get 


at,  yet,  for  a  mile 
woods   with   their 


of  avenue  *^  ancestral  timber  !  "  or  for 
no    passage    for 
machines,  the  expense  of  treatment  could  not  be  met. 

^  The  victim  was  a  resident  in  the  New  Forest  district,  and  the  sting 
or  bite  was  followed  by  severe  local  inflammation.  Blood  poisoning 
supervened  and  caused  death.     (Ed.). 


1899.]  DIAMOND-BACK  MOTH  AND  CORN  SAWFLY    147 

August  5,  1897. 

I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  your  very  interesting  and 
valuable  observations,  and  for  the  accompanying  specimens 
of  corn  attacks.  What  a  collection  to  find  in  one  field  !  I 
do  not  remember  having  had  wheat  attacked  by  Chlorops 
before,  though  it  is  subject  to  the  attack,  and  it  is  years 
since  I  have  had  the  Sawfly  attack.  In  one  stem  the  grub 
had  spun  itself  a  beautiful  case  just  within  the  lowest  part  of 
the  stem,  and  being  kept  steady  in  the  transparent  covering, 
it  gave  me  an  excellent  opportunity  of  examining  it. 

I  am  very  glad  also  of  your  definite  observation  of  pre- 
sence of  Diamond-back  moth.  I  should  not  much  wonder 
if  we  saw  more  of  it  next  year,  for  I  have  just  had  a  very 
few  specimens  sent  from  widely  distant  localities. 


I,  2,  Corn  sawfly,  magnified,  and  line  showing  natural  length  ; 
3,  infested  stem  ;  4,  5,  maggot,  natural  size  and  magnified  ;  6, 
parasite  fly,  Pachymerus  calcitrafor,  magnified,  and  7,  line  showing 
natural  size. 

FIG.   31. — CORN   SAWFLY,    CEPHUS  PYGMMUS,   CURTIS. 


August  7,  1899. 
I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  your  letter  of  the  3rd 
with  notes  of  Hessian  fly  (fig.  15),  and  Corn  sawfly  presence. 
I  have  examined  the  specimens,  and  it  seems  to  me  that 
those  of  the  Hessian  fly  attack  close  to  the  root  are  of  the 
same  nature  as  some  I  have  had  before.  I  think  your  notes 
would  be  interesting  for  my  next  Annual  Report.     I  was 


148  LETTERS  TO   MR   GIBB  [Chap.  xv. 

very  much  pleased  to  notice  some  time  back,  that  in  an 
official  U.S.A.  report,  attention  was  markedly  drawn  to  the 
great  importance  of  destroying  puparia  of  Hessian  fly  as  a 
means  of  keeping  attacks  in  check.  My  name  was  given  as 
having  upheld  the  plan  in  England.  I  am  truly  glad  that  the 
States  people  have  taken  this  improved  view  of  preventive 
measures. 

The  weather  has  been  quite  distressingly  hot  here,  with 
often  a  glare  of  sunshine  on  this  exposed  south-west  slope 
that  was  very  painful,  and  with  the  heat  quantities  of  the 
Cabbage  white  butterflies  came  out.  I  got  my  gardener  to 
syringe  the  brassicaceous  plants  with  "  antipest "  as  an 
experiment,  and  I  certainly  think  that  afterwards  there  was 
not  nearly  as  large  a  proportion  of  the  butterflies  on  the 
cabbage  as  in  the  adjacent  flower  garden. 
Believe  me, 

Yours  very  truly, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 

D.  D.  Gibb,  Esq.,  Barton,  Marlborough. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

LETTERS   TO   MR.    GRIMSHAW,    MR.   WISE,   AND   MR. 
TEGETMEIER 

The  Red-bearded  Bot  fly— Deer  and  Ox  Warble  flies— Caddis  flies— Black 
Currant  mites — Crusade  against  the  House  Sparrow — Miss  Ormerod's 
pamphlet  and  Mr.  Tegetmeier's  book  on  the  Sparrow. 

The  grouping  of  the  letters  to  three  correspondents,  so 
differently  interested  in  Entomology  and  other  branches  of 
Biology,  was  more  a  matter  of  dates  than  of  any  scientific 
relationship  in  the  subject  matter,  (i)  Mr.  Grimshaw,  the 
well-known  authority  on  Scottish  Diptera,  was  also  the  first 
investigator  to  show  that  the  so-called  "  frosted  "  condition 
of  heather  was  caused  by  a  beetle  larva  ;  (2)  Mr.  Wise  was 
one  of  Miss  Ormerod's  most  interested  correspondents  in 
questions  relating  to  fruit-growing  and  market-gardening ; 
and  (3)  Mr.  Tegetmeier  was  her  colleague  through  the 
trying  days  of  the  Sparrow  controversy,  in  which  Miss 
Ormerod  was  subjected  to  bitter  personal  attacks  by  her 
opponents.  He  was  always  ready  to  lend  assistance  in 
relation  to  questions  dealing  with  birds  and  the  four-footed 
animals. 

To  Percy  H.  Grimshaw,  Esq.,  F.E.S.,  &c..  Museum  of  Science 
and  Artf  Edinburgh. 

ToRRixGTON  House,  St.  Albans, 

August  14,  1895. 
Dear  Sir, — I  write  at  once  to  thank  you  very  much  for 
the  copy  of  your  paper  on  the  Cephenomyia  rufibarbis  (Red- 
bearded  botfly),  in  the  '' Annals  of  S.  Nat.  Hist."  Will  this 
be  the  attack  figured  (in  its  effect  on  the  deer)  in  Dr. 
Brauer's  spirited  frontispiece  to  his  **  CEstridae  "  ?  ^ 

[In  the  last  few  days  I  have  had  sent  a  nice  specimen  of 

'  See  also  a  paper  on  Deer  botflies,  in  Entom.  Monthly  Magazine, 
1898,  by  Mr.  E.  E.  Austin,  Brit.  Museum. 

149 


150  LETTERS  TO   MR.   GRIMSHAW     [Chap.  xvi. 

the  Throat  Deer  botfly,  C.  rufibarbis,  which  I  alhided  to  in 
my  nineteenth  Report.  It  is  a  very  handsome  fly,  more 
than  half  an  inch  long,  and  of  very  broad  make  (three-eighths 
across  the  abdomen),  thickly  clothed  with  very  dark  hair 
(but  much  either  mixed  with  or  tipped  with  orange), 
and  on  each  side  of  the  thorax  a  good-sized  pale  patch, 
and  beneath  the  chin  the  red  beard  from  which  it  takes 
its  name.  I  scarcely  think  it  would  occur  in  the  New  Forest, 
but,  if  it  did,  it  would  be  quite  a  rare  prize.]  ^ 

Have  you  (if  I  may  venture  to  ask)  extended  your 
researches  to  the  Hypoderma  (Warble  fly),  of  our  British 
deer  ?  It  would  be  usefully  interesting,  I  think,  if  we  could 
work  this  up.  I  am  doing  what  I  can,  with  help  from  some 
of  the  head-keepers,  &c.,  and  when  deer-stalking  is  going  on 
I  am  promised  a  warbled  red-deer's  hide  for  examination. 


Rather  larger  than  Hfe  ;  Hne  showing  natural  length. 

FIG.   32. — RED-BEARDED   BOTFLY,   CEPHBNOMYIA    RUFIBARBIS, 
MEIG.,   BRAUER,   AND   SCHINER. 

August  17,  1895. 

I  had  much  pleasure  in  receiving  your  letter  this  morning, 
and  only  wish  I  had  a  duplicate  of  the  Hypoderma  bovis  (Ox 
warble  fly,  iig.  5),  to  spare — I  would  most  gladly  ofifer  it, 
but  now  I  have  only  one.  I  never  had  many,  and  with  my 
best  endeavours  I  cannot  get  people  to  rear  them.  I  quite 
hope  to  have  a  hide  of  a  red-deer  presently,  and  I  think  one 
might  make  out  the  larva  of  the  H.  diana  (Deer  warble  fly),  at 
least,  by  reference  to  fig.  6,  tab.  viii. — what  do  you  think  ? 

May  I  ask  you  to  do  me  the  pleasure  of  accepting  the 
enclosed  copy  of  the  ^'  CEstridae,"  lately  come  rather 
curiously  to  my  hands.  It  was  sent  through  a  mistake 
instead  of  the  separate  impression  of  Dr.  Brauer's 
*'  Tabanidae,"  and  as  I  knew  how  difficult  it  was  to  procure 
(especially  with  the  plates),  I  kept  it,  feeling  sure  it  would  be 
useful  to  some  friend.  •  I  have  a  copy  which  I  have  worked 

'  Extracted  from  a  letter  of  Miss  Ormerod  to  Mr.  D.  D.  Gibb.  (See 
Chap.  XV.) 


1896.]  RED   BEARDED   BOTFLY  151 

with  for  years,  so  I  hope  that  you  will  not  hesitate  to  give 
me  the  pleasure  of  making  this  copy  as  useful  as  I  am  sure 
it  will  be  in  your  hands.  I  wish  it  were  in  better  order.  I 
see  that  beneath  the  frontispiece  of  this  copy  is  a  reference 
to  p.  186  in  the  '^  Biologic  von  Cephenomyia,  &c./'  but  I 
suppose  my  frontispiece  is  a  ''  proof  before  letters,"  for  there 
is  no  reference  or  description.   The  two  are  the  same  edition. 

January  9,  1897. 
My  riifiharhis  was  sent  to  me  by  Mr.  Dugald  Campbell 
from  Strathconan  Forest,  Muir  of  Ord,  Ross-shire.  I 
received  it  on  June  8th,  then  quite  fresh — and  such  a 
beauty  1  With  its  long  thick  coat  it  almost  might  be  called 
furry,  and  the  "glance"  on  the  hairs  was  lovely.  It  was 
rather  darker  in  some  parts  (that  is,  ran  to  rather  more  foxy 
red  on  the  centre  of  the  upper  fore  part  of  the  abdomen), 
than  is  noted  by  some  observers,  so  that  it  was  very  richly 
coloured,  and  its  red  beard  was  very  handsome.  I  have  had 
a  figure  taken  of  it,  with  great  care,  and  if  when  you  see  it 
(for  of  course  I  hope  you  will  accept  a  copy  of  my  next 
Annual  Report,  on  publication),  you  think  you  would  like  to 
borrow  it  any  time  for  one  of  your  papers,  I  should  be  only 
happy  to  lend  it  you. 

Yours  sincerely, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 

To  Charles  D.  WisCy  Esq.,  Estate  Office,  Toddington,  Winch- 
combe,  Gloucestershire. 

TORRINGTON    HOUSE,    ST.    AlBANS, 

April  16,  1896. 

Dear  Mr.  Wise, — If  it  would  not  give  you  too  much 
trouble  I  should  be  very  glad  of  some  information  about 
the  case  of  Caddis  worms  attacking  water-cresses.  You 
will  know  these  grubs  quite  well  as  the  creatures  that 
go  about  in  shallow  ponds  or  ditches  with  a  case  formed 
round  them.  Sometimes  this  is  of  very  little  shells,  but  at 
home  the  commonest  kind  was  made  of  little  morsels  of 
rush  or  stick,  with  little  leaves  webbed  up  with  it. 

There  is  a  very  large  trade  in  water-cresses  from  the  little 
river  here,  but  there  are  such  quantities  of  trout  in  it, 
that  probably  these  keep  the  Caddis  worms  in  moderate 
limits,  and  I  only  now  and  then  see  their  flies,  the  so-called 
'^  Water  moths  "  in  the  summer.  Mr.  Richard  Coe,  Weston 
Farm,  Guildford,  has  kindly  sent  me  some  excellent  speci- 
mens of  Caddis  worms  and  cases,  which  I  am  very  glad 


152 


LETTERS  TO  MR.   WISE         [Chap.  xvi. 


to  have.  The  chief  natural  helpers  against  over-presence 
of  Caddis  worms  appear  to  be  fish  of  various  kinds,  but  the 
increase  of  birds  which  naturally  feed  on  fish — herons, 
&c., — destroys  the  balance  of  nature,  and  Caddis  worms 
increase. 

[Miss  Ormerod,  quoting  Mr.  Coe  in  her  Report  for  1896, 
says  (p.  156)  :_ 

^'Whenever  we  find  a  bed  of  cresses  attacked,  we  clear 
away  all  the  plants,  drain  off  the  water,  and  leave  the  bed 
perfectly  dry  for  two  or  three  weeks  in  the  autumn,  previous 
to  the  winter  planting.     If  afterwards  we  find  traces  of  the 


Water  moth,  magnified,  and  lines  showing  natural  size  (after 
Westvvood)  ;  Caddis  worm  "  cases  "  of  Limnephilus  fiavicornis, 
magnified. 

FIG.   33. — CADDIS   WORMS,    LARV^:  OF   CADDIS  FLY  OR  WATER   MOTH, 
MORMON/A   NIGROMACULA TA . 


worm,  we  wait  until  the  plants  are  well  established,  then  we 
increase  the  volume  of  water  and  swim  the  bed,  and  pass 
the  backs  of  wooden  rakes  over  the  tops  of  the  plants  very 
thoroughly.  This  process  brings  the  bulk  of  the  worms  to 
the  surface,  and  they  are  let  off  down-stream  with  the 
surplus  water." 

To   Dr.  Fletcher  she   also   wrote  as  follows: — ^'Did    I 


1897.]  CADDIS   WORMS  i53 

tell  you  about  the  Caddis  worm  attack  on  water-cresses  ? 
So  much  harm  was  being  done  that  the  unlucky  grower 
was  in  much  trouble,  and  on  running  the  matter  up  it 
appeared  that  formerly  there  were  numbers  of  trout  in  the 
water,  but  lately  the  landlord's  wife  had  a  fancy  to  encou- 
rage herons,  and  so  came  the  curious  sequence.  The 
herons  cleared  off  the  insect-loving  trout,  so  the  vegetable- 
eating  insects  got  ahead,  and  the  watercress  grower  could 
not  pay  the  rent  of  his  half  acre  of  cresses.  I  suggested  that 
as  the  herons  were  encouraged  by  the  lady,  perhaps  she,  if 
applied  to,  might  to  some  degree  make  good  the  damages  !"] 

March  5,  1897. 

Dear  Mr.  Wise,— You  asked  my  views  about  moles 
at  Strawberry  roots.  I  should  say  it  would  be  quite  worth 
while  to  spare  them  as  you  are  doing,  and  see  what  comes 
of  it.  If  they  take  the  Otiorhynchiis  grub  (of  Orchard  and 
Hop  weevils)  this  would  meet  a  difficulty  which  we  hardly 
know  how  to  fight  at  present,  and  if  the  moles  took  these 
grubs  one  might  hope  that  they  would  take  other  under- 
ground kinds,  which  are  kitchen  garden  pests,  almost  uncon- 
querable by  other  remedial  means.  I  should  doubt,  however, 
whether  they  would  be  of  much  service  against  Winter 
moth  chrysalides  (fig.  30).  Very  likely  I  am  not  right,  but 
the  mole  seems  to  me  to  prefer  more,  open  ground  and  a 
larger  scope  of  operations. 

April  8,  1897. 

So  far  as  I  know  the  only  treatment  for  Black  Currant 
Gall  mite,  Phytoptus  rihis  (fig.  65),  which  has  been  in  a 
measure  successful,  is  that  reported  by  Mr.  J.  Biggs,  of 
Laxton,  East  Yorkshire,  in  my  seventeenth  Annual  I^eport, 
p.  93.  There,  if  you  will  turn  to  it,  you  will  see  we  have 
treatment  to  clear  the  pest  from  all  localities,  whether 
straying  on  the  twigs  or  on  the  ground ;  or  in  the  buds, 
this  by  breaking  them  off.  Mr.  Biggs  observed,  writing 
on  the  20th  of  April,  1892:  '^You  will,  I  am  sure,  be 
interested  in  knowing  that  I  have,  to  a  certain  extent, 
prevented  the  Phytoptus  utterly  ruining  my  black  currant 
trees.  As  you  suggested  in  a  letter  of  last  March,  we 
syringed  the  bushes  twice  with  the  solution  of  Paris-green, 
which  I  procured  from  Messrs.  Blundell,  and  gave  the  soil 
all  under  the  bushes  a  good  coating  of  caustic  lime  ;  I  also 
gave  the  bushes  another  dressing  of  the  Paris-green.  Just 
when  the  buds  appeared  this  spring  I  had  a  boy  gathering 
all  the  little  knobs  off  the  trees.  The  result  has  proved  as 
satisfactory  as  I  could  expect,  considering  the  condition  of 


154  LETTERS  TO   MR.   WISE         [Chap.  xvi. 

the  trees  last  year,  and  I  have  every  prospect  of  securing  a 
good  half  crop.  Our  neighbour's  trees  in  this  village  are 
utterly  ruined,  scarcely  a  leaf  to  be  seen,  and  the  trees 
completely  covered  with  the  affected  knobs." 

But  with  regard  to  the  life  history  of  the  pest,  I  believe  it 
breeds  entirely  in  the  infested  buds,  and  I  believe  also 
breeds,  i.e.,  lays  eggs,  there  at  any  time  during  the  winter. 
I  know  that  the  nearly  allied  nui-Phytophis  does,  for  I 
have  seen  them.  Outside  the  buds,  so  far  as  I  know,  the 
life  is  wholly  spent  in  sheltering  in  crannies  or  straying 
about,  on  the  stems,  or  on  the  ground.  What  we  want, 
appears  to  me  to  be,  to  clear  the  mite  by  syringings  from 
the  stems  when  the  buds  (of  which  we  have  now  the  galled 
growth)  are  first  beginning  to  form.  But  I  do  not  see  how 
we  could  do  this,  for  we  should  ruin  the  fruit.  My  only 
hope  for  real  prevention  where  black-currants  are  grown 
on  this  large  scale,  is  in  an  alteration  of  the  method  of 
cultivation.  As  it  stands  now,  the  mites  can  convey  them- 
selves, or  be  carried  by  wind-borne  leaves,  or  may  creep 
from  one  bush  to  another  on  the  ground,  but  if  there 
could  be  a  mixing  of  some  field  crop  in  strips  with  the 
black-currants,  I  believe  it  would  do  a  deal  preventively. 
If  the  ground  between  the  rows  were  occupied  by  some 
crop  that  the  Phytopti  would  not  pass,  it  could  not  fail  to 
lessen  their  presence.  Even  strips  of  strawberries  or  of 
gooseberries  would  be  beneficial.  I  wonder  whether 
kainite  would  be  a  good  remedial  application  ?  It  might 
kill  all  the  mites  that  are  about,  but  it  is  quite  plain  to 
me  that,  as  nothing  that  has  been  tried  for  so  many  years 
answers  thoroughly,  we  are  on  the  wrong  lines  and  need 
a  new  plan.  I  wish  you  would,  at  your  leisure,  tell  me 
what  you  think  of  mixing  crops,  and  if  you  could  let  me 
have  just  a  few  little  bits  of  galled  twigs  for  figuring,  I 
should  be  very  much  obliged.  I  wish  I  could  help  better 
about  the  matter,  but  so  far  the  attack  appears  to  have  fairly 
bafBed  us  all. 

April  13,  1897. 

I  am  very  much  obliged  for  these  remarkably  fine  speci- 
mens of  Currant  galls,  which  reached  me  safely  this  morn- 
ing. About  the  life  history  of  the  Phytopti,  I  do  not  think 
that  anything  more  is  recorded  than  what  both  you  and  I 
know.  But  as  we  know  well  that  the  mites  are  in  the  galls 
(such  as  you  send  me),  it  seems  to  me  that  what  we  have  got 
to  act  upon  is  their  condition  (or  locality,  rather)  in  the  time 
between  their  leaving  these  galls  and  when  they  are  starting 


1897.]  BLACK   CURRANT   GALL   MITES  155 

new  attack  in  the  embryo  buds.  I  wish  I  could  tell  you 
more,  but  I  do  not  see  how  to  get  at  the  point  of  locality, 
excepting  by  watching  shoots  with  a  hand  magnifier.  I 
really  am  quite  at  a  loss  as  to  what  can  be  done. 

April  19,  1897. 

I  wrote  out  to  Vienna  to  Professor  Dr.  A.  Nalepa,  who  is 
the  great  authority  on  the  Phytoptidce,  and  he  is  much 
interested  in  hearing  about  this  great  spread  of  attack,  but 
is  not  able  to  give  us  better  advice,  as  to  practical  remedies, 
than  what  we  are  already  trying.     (See  also  p.  248.) 

He  says  very  truly,  that  looking  at  the  winter  quarters  of 
the  mite  pests  being  most  especially  in  the  buds,  such 
measures  as  : — 

(i)  Breaking  off  and  destroying  the  infested  buds.  ^  (2) 
Cutting  off  the  infested  shoots  just  above  the  ground,  and 
so  getting  new  shoots.  (3)  Only  using  uninfested  pieces 
for  propagation — could  not,  he  thinks,  fail  to  be  of  service, 
if  carried  out  carefully.  I  quite  agree  with  Dr.  Nalepa 
so  far  as  that,  without  these  measures,  infestation  would  be 
worse  than  it  is.  In  a  small  amount  of  growth  (such  as 
bushes  in  a  private  garden),  I  can  speak  from  my  own  per- 
sonal experience  of  having  sometimes  satisfactorily  checked 
the  spread  of  these  or  similar  causes  of  injury  by  employing 
dressings.  But  it  is  a  very  different  matter  where  black- 
currant bushes  are  grown  by  acres  together  ;  and  I  greatly 
doubt  whether,  even  if  consideration  of  cost  were  put  aside, 
it  would  be  within  possibility  to  get  this  wood  (or  grove)  of 
bushes,  so  examined  and  so  expurgated  of  evil,  as  not  to 
leave  centres  for  spread. 

It  always  strikes  me  as  a  very  curious  circumstance  that 
(so  far  as  I  am  aware)  the  black  currant  is  not  affected  by 
this  Phytoptiis  on  the  Continent,  or  at  least  in  the  large 
part  of  it  in  which  the  attacks  are  noted  by  Kaltenbach 
or  Taschenberg.  Do  you  think  it  can  be  that  the  black 
currant  is  there  of  a  somewhat  different  kind  which  repels 
Phytoptiis  attack,  just  as  some  kinds  of  American  vines  are 
not  as  subject  as  others  to  Phylloxera  f  It  occurs  to 
me  that  it  may  be  well  worth  while  to  import  some  hun- 
dreds of  plants  and  plant  them,  of  course  on  what  is 
considered  clean  ground,  and  see  what  comes  of  it.  I 
should  like  your  views  after  you  have  well  thought  the 
matter  over.     I  cannot  expect  the  expense  of  an  experiment 

'  This,  or  its  equivalent,  the  immediate  and  diligent  pinching  of  in- 
fested buds  with  linger  and  thumb,  has  proved  the  most  practical 
remedy  (Ed.). 


156  LETTERS  TO    MR.   WISE  [Chap.  xvi. 

of  mine  to  be  borne  by  any  Company,  but  I  should  much 
Hke  it  trustworthily  tried,  and  if  you  could  give  me  some 
guidance  as  to  where  to  apply  on  the  Continent,  and  cost 
(a  rough  estimate),  I  might  be  able  to  get  the  plants,  and 
with  your  permission  send  a  good  consignment  to  yourself. 

April  27,  1897. 

I  have  to-day  heard  from  Dr.  Ritzema  Bos  about  the 
Phytoptus  ribis,  and  he  tells  me  that  in  Holland  he  knows 
many  localities  where  this  infestation  is  a  scourge  to  fruit- 
growers, but  it  is  always  the  black  currant  which  is  attacked. 
They  do  not  have  it  there  in  the  red  currant,  Rihes  rnhrnm. 
He  says  that  he  is  not  acquainted  with  any  better  remedies 
than  those  mentioned  in  my  letter,  but  that  he  considers  it 
an  excellent  idea  to  seek  for  varieties  or  families  of  black- 
currants, Ribes  nigrum,  which  may  be  ^^  Phytoptus  proof." 
He  does  not  himself  know  positively  whether  there  are 
districts  in  Holland  not  attacked  by  the  Phytoptus,  and 
whether  in  attacked  districts  there  may  be  varieties  that  do 
not  suffer.  Therefore  he  is  going  to  ask  for  information  on 
this  head  from  horticulturists  and  fruit-growers,  and  will 
write  me  again.  I  think  it  is  very  kind  of  him  to  take  so 
much  trouble  to  help  us,  and  from  his  position  I  expect  he 
will  easily  obtain  whatever  information  is  to  be  had,  and  I 
will  be  sure  to  let  you  know.  It  is  very  curious  about  the 
red  currant  being  attacked  in  some  parts  of  the  Continent 
and  not  in  others. 

November  30,  1897. 

I  have  this  afternoon  heard  from  Professor  J.  Jablonowski, 
Assistant  at  the  State  Entomological  Station,  Budapest,  that 
he  "sends  now  the  promised  black  currants."  I  expect 
these  will  be  supposed  ^^  mite-proof "  plants,  as  he  says  that 
he  hopes  they  will  be  serviceable  for  the  proposed  experi- 
ment— but  he  does  not  explain  ;  only  that  they  have  been 
given  to  him  by  his  friend,  the  Director  of  the  Horti- 
cultural Institute,  Desiderius  Angyal  (I  do  not  know  what 
prefix  I  should  write).  When  the  plants  arrive  I  propose  to 
divide  them  (if  you  please)  between  yourself  and  Mr.  John 
Speir — it  would  be  exceedingly  interesting  if  there  really 
should  turn  out  to  be  a  mite-proof  black  currant.  But 
meanwhile  Professor  Jablonow^ski  would  very  much  like  to 
have  a  specimen  of  the  mite  galls,  for  he  has  never  seen 
them.  If  it  would  not  be  too  much  trouble,  I  should  be 
very  greatly  obliged  if  you  would  be  kind  enough  to  let  me 
have  two  or  three  bits  of  twigs  with  galls,  if  any  are  showing 
enough  now  to  be  noticeable,  and  I  would  send  them  on. 


1897.]  .  NARCISSUS   FLY  157 

December  4,  1897. 

Many  thanks  for  the  supply  of  galls,  which  I  shall  duly 
send  to  the  Professor,  and  I  earnestly  hope  that  he  will  not 
infest  Hungary  with  them  !  The  consignment  came  to 
hand  from  him  yesterday  evening,  but  it  is  in  the  form 
of  shoots  as  cuttings,  so  I  now  send  you  about  half 
in  a  registered  letter.  If  the  pieces  root  properly  I 
should  think  it  would  be  best  to  plant  them  amongst  the 
infested  currants — as  they  are  so  few  it  would  not  be  much 
trouble — and  there  is  just  a  chance  that  they  may  be  mite- 
proof.  I  do  not  myself  (much  as  I  regret  it)  think  that 
there  is  any  safety  in  washes  and  that  sort  of  treatment, 
but  as  I  write  the  idea  comes  into  my  mind  whether,  as 
with  us,  the  Ribes  rubnun  (red  currant)  seems  mite-proof — 
anything  could  be  done  by  grafting  black  on  red.  Would 
they  graft  ?  or  is  my  idea  quite  chimerical  ?  The  black 
currant  shoots  are  var.  *'  bang-up,"  which  suggests  England 
as  their  original  country. 

I  do  not  know  whether  you  have  to  do  with  importing 
apple  fruit,  but  I  see  from  Dr.  Fletcher's  (Canadian) 
Entomological  Report  that  there  is  a  newly  observed  fruit 
maggot  in,  I  think  (without  special  reference),  the  District 
of  Columbia. 

December  17,  1897. 

I  cannot  be  sure  of  your  bulb  attack  without  developing 
the  fly,  but  I  should  conjecture  that  the  mischief  was  most 
likely  caused  by  the  Narcissus  fly.  This  is  now  known  as 
the  Merodon  narcissi,  Fab.,  but  from  the  varieties  in  colour 
to  which  it  is  subject,  I  believe  it  has  been  known  under  all 
the  following  specific  names  :  ephippiuin,  transversal  is,  nobiliSy 
constans,  ferrugineus,  flavicanSy  and  equestris. 

It  is  a  fair-sized  two-winged  fly,  and  appears  to  be  (in 
grub  state)  a  severe  plague  to  Narcissus  and  Daffodil 
growers  in  Holland,  &c.,  especially  in  bulbs  imported  from 
the  South  of  Europe. 

In  Verrall's  list  of  British  Diptera  I  only  find  one  species 
of  Merodon  named  and  that  is  equestris,  which  on  the 
principle  mentioned  on  the  preceding  page,  might  be 
synonymous  with  all  the  other  (?)  species.  The  grubs  feed 
in  Narcissus  and  Daffodil  bulbs  and  turn  to  chrysalides  in 
the  ground,  but  I  do  not  find  anywhere  that  there  is  any 
known  remedial  measure.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  only 
way  if  a  bed  were  much  infested  would  be  literally  to  trench 
it,  and  so  turn  down  the  chrysalides.  You  do  not  men- 
tion  whether  your  bulbs   are   home   grown.     If   they   are 


158 


LETTERS   TO  MR.   WISE  [Chap.  xvi. 


imported,  could  not  you  suggest  to  your  "  consigner  "  that 
unless  he  sent  you  bulbs  without  maggots  in  them,  you 
purposed  applying  elsewhere  ? 

May  12,  1898. 
Excepting  one  specimen   your  caterpillars   are   not  yet 
nearly  full  grown  !     If  you  will  turn  to  ^*  Lappet   moth " 


Male  and  female  ;  and  caterpillar  ;  also  apple  twig  with  leaves 
eaten  away — all  from  life. 

FIG.   34. — LAPPET   MOTH,    GASTROPACHA    QUERCIFOLIA,   LINN. 


E.C.^.. 


in  my  Annual  Reports  for  1893  and  1894,  you  will  find 
^'the  brutes"  figured — perhaps  get  a  hint  where  they  may 
have  come  from. 

It  was  about  this  attack  amongst  others  that  I  gave  so 


1897.]  LAPPET   MOTH  159 

much  annoyance  to  "Entomologists"  by  recommending 
that,  notwithstanding  their  beauty  and  rarity,  it  would  be 
highly  desirable  to  make  them  yet  more  rare  ! 

December  5,  1900. 
Do  you  happen  to  have  seen  the  Woburn  Report  con- 
taining, amongst  a  good  deal  of  information,  an  account  of 
results  of  experiments  re  Black  currant  mite  ?  I  would 
with  pleasure  lend  you  my  copy,  if  you  please  ;  there  is  a 
little  in  it,  as  to  their  views  about  hydrocyanic  acid — the 
very  great  difficulties  of  applying  it  to  broadscale  treatment 
— and  a  politely  expressed  hope  that  further  experiment 
may  lead  to  useful  results.  The  experiment  of  moving  cut 
down  plants,  even  if  steeped  in  methylated  spirit  and  water, 
has  not  succeeded.  Mine  had  a  charming  little  crop  of  mite 
galls  on  those  only  moved  to  my  clean  ground,  and  even 
the  steeped  plants  were  not  quite  without  them.  In  this 
case  four  of  the  twelve  plants  died,  the  others  were  sickly, 
and  all  of  the  two  dozen  sent  me  flowered  profusely  but  did 
not  produce  one  currant  ! 

Yours  very  truly, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 

To  W.  B,  Tegetmeier,  Esq.,  F.Z.S.,  M.B.O.U.  ^ 

TORRINGTON    HOUSE,   St.   ALBANS, 

July  3,  1897. 
Dear  Mr.  Tegetmeier, — I  am  greatly  obliged  by  what 
you  tell  me  about  your  intentions  as  to  publishing  a  book 
on  "  The  House  Sparrow,"  Passer  domesticus.  My  idea  is 
this — that  for  popular  use  (farmers  and  gardeners) — the 
evidence  of  what  the  food  of  the  house  sparrow  really  is, 
needs  to  be  put  plainly  before  them  by  means  of  records 
of  trustworthy  investigations  of  the  contents  of  their  crops. 
For  this  I  have  been  taking  the  returns  of  Mr.  Gurney,  and 
some  of  Colonel  Russell,  who  used  to  help  me  ;  an  abstract 
of  the  U.S.A.  Board  of  Agricultural  Investigations,  &c.,  &c. ; 
also  from  my  own  Annual  Reports,  some  lists,  and  observa- 
tions of  birds  which  are  named  as  destroying  insects — this  to 
show  that  we  do  not  wholly  rely  on  Passer  domesticus !  With 
other  material  I  propose  to  make  a  sort  of  8  or  12  page  "  leaf- 
let" or  small  pamphlet,  and  send  it  out  gratuitously.    I  believe 

'  A  great  authority  on  the  life-history  of  animals  ;  author  of  a 
standard  work  on  pheasants,  and  numerous  works  on  poultry,  pigeons, 
and  horses,  mules,  and  mule-breeding ;  on  the  staff  of  "  The  Field  "  for 
nearly  half  a  century ;  an  old  Member  of  the  "  British  Ornithologists' 
Union." 


i6o 


LETTERS  TO   MR   TEGETMEIER     [Chap.  xvi. 


it  would  have  an  enormous  circulation,  and  would  not 
interfere  with  your  much  more  valuable  standard  book. 
But  I  am  exceedingly  desirous  to  act  completely  in  con- 
junction with  you.  To  me  it  would  be  a  very  great  ad- 
vantage. I  quite  reckon  on  being  violently  attacked,  but 
it  did  me  no  harm  before  to  be  threatened  to  be  shot  at, 
also  hanged  in  effigy,  and  other  little  attentions.  Still  it  was 
disagreeable ! 


FIG,   C— HOUSE  SPARROW,   PASSER  DOMESTICUS. 


[Miss  Ormerod's  case  against  the  House  Sparrow  or 
avian  rat  is  briefly  given  in  the  following  summary, 
appended  to  the  aforementioned  leaflet,  of  which  nearly 
36,000  were  printed  and  issued   to  applicants  : — 

*'We  find,  in  addition  to  what  all  concerned  know  too  well 
already  of  the  direct  and  obvious  losses  from  sparrow 
marauding,  that  there  is  evidence  of  the  injurious  extent 
to  which  they  drive  off  other  birds,  as  the  swallows  and 
martins,  which  are  much  more  helpful  on  account  of  their 
being  wholly  insectivorous  ;  also  that,  so  far  from  the 
sparrow's  food  consisting  wholly  of  insects  at  any  time  of  the 
year,  even  in  the  young  sparrows  only  half  has  been  found 
to  be  composed  of  insects  ;  and  of  the  food  of  the  adults, 
it  was  found  from  examination  that  in  a  large  proportion  of 
instances  no  insects  at  all  were  present,  and  of  these  many 


1897.]  THE   HOUSE  SPARROW  161 

were  of  kinds  that  are  helpful  to  us  or  harmless.  It  is  well 
on  record  that  there  are  many  kinds  of  birds  which  help  us 
greatly  by  devouring  insects,  and  that  where  sparrows  have 
systematically  been  destroyed  for  a  long  course  of  years  other 
birds  have  fared  better  for  their  absence.  Attention  should 
also  be  drawn  to  the  enormous  powers  of  increase  of 
this  bird,  which  under  not  only  protection,  but  to  some 
extent  absolute  fostering,  raises  its  numbers  so  dispropor- 
tionately as  to  destroy  the  natural  balance. 

"  Here  as  yet  we  have  no  movement  beyond  our  own 
attempts  to  preserve  ourselves,  so  far  as  we  legally  may, 
from  Sparrow  devastations  ;  but  in  the  United  States  of 
America  (of  the  evidence  of  which  I  have  given  a  part)  the 
Association  of  the  American  Ornithologists  gave  their  col- 
lective recommendation  that  all  existing  laws  protecting  the 
sparrow  should  be  repealed,  and  bounties  offered  for  its 
destruction  ;  and  the  law  protecting  the  sparrow  has  been 
repealed  in  Massachusetts  and  Michigan.  Dr.  Hart  Merriam, 
the  Ornithologist  of  the  U.S.A.  Board  of  Agriculture,  also 
officially  recommended  immediate  repeal  of  all  laws 
affording  protection  to  the  English  sparrow,  and  enactment 
of  laws  making  it  penal  to  shelter  or  harbour  it ;  and 
Professor  C.  V.  Riley,  Entomologist  to  the  Department, 
similarly  conveyed  his  views  officially  as  to  it  being  a 
destructive  bird,  worthless  as  an  insect  killer.  In  Canada,  on 
October  6, 1888,  at  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Entomological 
Society  of  Ontario,  Mr.  J.  Fletcher,  Entomologist  of  the 
Experimental  Farms  of  the  Department,  strongly  advocated 
the  destruction  of  the  sparrow;  and  in  reply  the  Hon.C.  W. 
Drury,  Minister  of  Agriculture  (who  attended  the  meeting 
as  head  of  the  Agricultural  Department  of  Ontario),  stated 
'  that  this  destructive  bird  was  no  longer  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  Act  of  Parliament  respecting  insectivorous 
birds,  and  that  every  one  was  at  liberty  to  aid  in  reducing 
its  numbers.'  Reasoning  on  the  same  grounds  as  to  pro- 
cedure in  this  country,  we  believe  that  similar  action  is, 
without  any  reasonable  cause  for  doubt,  called  for  here. 
The  amount  of  the  national  loss,  by  reason  of  ravaged 
crops  and  serviceable  birds  driven  away,  may  be  estimated, 
without  fear  of  exaggeration,  at  from  one  to  two  millions  a 
year.  Much  of  their  own  protection  lies  in  the  hands  of 
farmers  themselves  ;  and  sparrow  clubs,  well  worked,  and 
always  bearing  in  mind  that  it  is  only  this  one  bird  that  is 
earnestly  recommended  to  their  attention,  would  probably 
lessen  the  load  to  a  bearable  amount ;  and  we  believe  that 

12 


i62  LETTERS  TO   MR.  TEGETMEIER     [Chap.  xvi. 

subscriptions,  whether  local  or  from  those  who  know  the 
desirableness  of  aiding  in  the  work  of  endeavouring  to  save 
the  bread  of  the  people  from  these  feathered  robbers,  would 
be  money  wisely  and  worthily  spent." 

In  his  litde  book,  *^The  House  Sparrow,"  ^  Mr.  Tegetmeier 
writes  : — ^'  There  is  no  species  with  which  Passer  domesti- 
cus  is  likely  to  be  confounded  except  the  Tree  sparrow, 
P.  montanus  (the  only  other  species  indigenous  to  this 
country)  which  is  less  numerous  and  which  is  readily 
distinguished  by  its  smaller  size,  being  only  5^  instead  of 
6  inches  in  length,  and  by  its  having  black  patches  in  the 
middle  of  the  white  feathers  on  each  side  on  the  neck,  and 
two  distinct  bands  of  white  across  the  wing  in  place  of  one." 


FIG.  D. — TREE  SPARROW,  PASSER  MONTANUS 

"The  so-called  Hedge  sparrow  or  Dunnock,  Accentor 
modularis,  is  wrongly  named.  It  is  a  purely  insect-eating 
bird,  and  neither  in  its  structure,  habits  nor  food  is  it  closely 
related  to  the  House  sparrow.  It  does  not  occur  in  large 
numbers,  and  is  highly  beneficial  as  an  insect  destroyer."] 

July  10,  1897. 

Dear  Mr.  Tegetmeier, — Your  letter  received  this 
morning  is  a  very  great  pleasure  to  me — in  fact,  a  great  relief 
to  my  mind,  for  I  was  truly  sorry  to  feel  I  might  be  trespass- 
ing on  far  more  authoritative  work.  I  should  like  to  shorten 
my  work  if  I  could,  but  when  we  meet,  I  hope  you  will 
set  me  right  as  to  condensing  and  all  other  matters.  If 
we  could  rout  P.  domesticus  it  would  be  a  national  benefit. 
Much  looking  forward  to  our  meeting  on  Tuesday. 

^  The  House  Sparrow,  published  by  Vinton  &  Co.,  at  is.,  contains 
Miss  Ormerod's  original  leaflet  as  an  appendix. 


1897.]  THE   HOUSE   SPARROW  163 

August  4,  1897. 
I  think  "House  Sparrow"  shapes  up  nicely  aUogether, 
and  I  have  this  morning  received  a  letter  from  Dr.  M.  E. 
Oustalet,  President  of  the  "Comity  Ornithologique  per- 
manent," at  Paris,  to  say  that  he  has  not  been  able  to  find 
any  indication  of  destruction  of  sparrows  having  taken 
place  by  order  of  Government  in  the  districts  that  I  in- 
quired about. 

August  16,  1897. 
Application  for  our  leaflet  is  very  satisfactory.  The 
Staffordshire  County  Council  has  taken  up  distribution,  and 
the  farmers  and  parish  authorities  are  again  encouraged  to 
begin  sparrow  clubs.  I  have  experienced  tremendous 
denunciations  of  my  own  brutality  from  the  Rev.  J.  E. 
Walker.  1  enclose  the  second,  as  he  purposes  to  relieve  his 
mind  further  in  the  '^Animal's  Friend."  Please  not  to  return 
it.  I  returned  his  book  with  my  compliments  and  thanks 
for  sight  of  the  same,  and  requested  that  should  he  desire  to 
make  any  further  remarks  relative  to  the  leaflet  that  he 
would  not  address  them  to  me,  but  to  you  as  my  colleague 
in  the  work. 

August  21,  1897. 
In  very  little  more  than  a  week  a  new  impression  was 
needed  to  keep  up  to  demand — and  we  are  making  way  well 
with  this  second  5,000.  Many  of  the  applications  are  from 
centres — and  great  satisfaction  is  often  expressed  at  the  infor- 
mation being  made  available.  The  Agent-General  for  New 
Zealand  asked  for  a  supply,  and  Mr.  Morley,  Lord  Spencer's 
agent,  is  taking  up  the  matter  well ;  and  as  Lord  Spencer 
appears  to  steadily  set  his  face  against  sparrows,  I  hope  that 
when  he  comes  home  we  shall  get  some  support  there.  A 
fair  proportion  of  clergymen  want  copies  for  distribution  to 
parishioners,  or  for  sparrow  clubs,  which  is  satisfactory — 
and  amongst  all  the  great  mass  of  applications  there  have 
not,  I  think,  been  more  than  five  or  six  at  all  upholding 
P.  domesticus,  and  these  have  been  mostly  quite  trivial 
observations. 

Mr.  Morley  was  in  a  difficulty  about  how  to  keep  the 
birds  for  counting,  as  in  warm  weather  they  got  unpleasant. 
I  suggested  preserving  their  heads  in  salt  and  water — if  I 
remember  rightly  this  was  how  they  managed  the  difficulty 
in  South  Australia.  Altogether  I  think  we  are  doing  well — 
there  are  a  good  many  inquiries  as  to  the  best  methods  of 
destroying  the  bird — but  I  always  say  that  you  will  deal 
with  this  in  your  work.  The  good  folks  have  not  attacked 
me  again  personally  by  letter. 


164  LETTl^RS  TO  MR.  TEGE^TMElER    [Chap.  xvi. 

I  should  have  Hked  to  write  just  a  short  note  to  the 
^^  Field "  to  mention  how  well  the  matter  has  been  taken 
up,  but  I  did  not  feel  sure  whether  you  would  wish  me  to 
do  it  ?  Would  you  think  well  of  just  mentioning  the  large 
demand  yourself  ?  On  several  days  the  applications  ran  to 
above  a  hundred  letters.  I  am  keeping  the  letters,  for  in 
some  there  is  very  practical  observation  as  to  the  great 
injury  done  by  sparrows — especially  attacking  corn  on 
allotments. 

August  22,  1897. 

I  am  trying — if  the  thing  be  possible — to  rout  people  out 
of  the  time-honoured  old  holes  that  they  creep  into — as  the 
emigration  of  the  sparrows — also  the  Maine  and  Auxerre 
story.     These,  I  think,  we  have  managed. 

[The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  "  House  Sparrow  " 
pamphlet  : — 

"  For  many  years  mention  has  been  made,  by  those  who 
consider  sparrow  preservation  desirable,  of  great  disasters 
following  on  some  not  clearly  detailed  methods  of  extermi- 
nation, or  expulsion  of  the  sparrow  in  the  countries  of 
Hungary  and  Baden,  and  also  in  the  territory  of  Prussia  ; 
and,  nearer  our  own  time,  in  Maine,  and  near  Auxerre  in 
France.  With  regard  to  the  three  first  named,  a  record 
will  be  found  in  our  own  '  Times'  for  August  21,  1861,  p.  7. 

"  This  gives  a  translation  from  the  French  paper,  the 
'  Moniteur,'  of  a  report  on  four  petitions  relative  to  pre- 
servation of  small  birds  which  had  been  presented  to  the 
French  Corps  Legislatif.  The  report  contains  much  infor- 
mation, but  in  respect  to  the  emigrations  of  the  sparrow 
because  the  bird  was  aware  of  the  plots  that  were  being 
laid  against  its  safety,  the  statements  cannot  be  said  to  carry 
any  weight.  The  following  extract  is  inserted,  as  it  is 
important  to  agriculturists  to  have  a  correct  copy  of  the 
baseless  statements  they  are  sometimes  called  on  to  believe. 
The  passage  is  as  follows  : — 

^*  *  Now,  if  the  facts  mentioned  in  the  petitions  are  exact, 
according  to  the  opinion  of  many  this  bird  ought  to  stand 
much  higher  than  he  is  reputed.  In  fact,  it  is  stated  that  a 
price  having  been  set  upon  his  head  in  Hungary  and  Baden, 
the  intelligent  proscrit  left  those  countries  ;  but  it  was  soon 
discovered  that  he  alone  could  manfully  contend  against 
the  cockroaches  and  the  thousand  winged  insects  of  the 
lowlands,  and  the  very  men  who  offered  a  price  for  his 
destruction  offered  a  still  higher  price  to  introduce   him 


1897]  THE    HOUSE   SPARROW  165 

again  into  the  country/  .  .  .  ^  Frederick  the  Great  had  also 
declared  war  against  the  sparrows,  which  did  not  respect 
his  favourite  fruit  the  cherry.  Naturally  the  sparrows  could 
not  pretend  to  resist  the  conqueror  of  Austria,  and  they 
emigrated  ;  but  in  two  years  not  only  were  there  no  more 
cherries,  but  scarcely  any  other  sort  of  fruit — the  caterpillars 
ate  them  all  up  ;  and  the  great  victor  on  so  many  fields  of 
battle  was  happy  to  sign  peace  at  the  cost  of  a  few  cherries 
with  the  reconciliated  sparrows.' 

'^  With  regard  to  the  destruction  and  consequent  results 
stated  to  have  occurred  in  Maine  and  near  Auxerre,  at 
present  our  very  best  endeavours  have  failed  to  find  that 
the  statement  of  this  having  occurred  rests  on  any  authori- 
tative basis ;  and  the  only  definite  notice  of  the  subject 
which  we  have  found  is,  that  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Auxerre  there  was  an  injudicious  destruction  of  small  birds 
generally,  not  only  of  Passer  domesticus."  See  'The  House 
Sparrow  at  Home  and  Abroad,'  by  Thomas  G.  Gentry,  p.  26, 
Philadelphia,  1878."] 

August  22,  1897. 

Dear  Mr.  Tegetmeier, — But  there  is  a  third  story — 
though  I  name  this  with  more  reverence  than  they  always 
do — the  New  Testament  allusions  translated  in  our  version, 
the  ''  sparrow."  I  find  in  a  copy  of  the  ''  Ecclesiastical 
Slavonic  "  Scripture  which  I  have  here  (the  authorised  edition 
of  the  Russian  Greek  Church)  that  the  word  is  bird;  in  the 
ordinary  modern  Russian  it  is  sparrow.  Unfortunately  I  do 
not  understand  Greek — but  this  could  easily  be  looked  up 
in  the  Greek  Testament.  I  am  trying  to  find  a  scholar  who 
knows  what  the  respective  words  for  bird  and  sparrow  are 
in  Aramaic,  which  I  believe  was  the  dialect  of  Palestine  in 
the  time  of  our  Lord.  Mr.  Rassam,  the  explorer,  can,  I 
believe,  talk  a  number  of  these  Eastern  dialects,  but  he 
always  told  me  that  he  did  not  enter  on  them  grammatically 
or  technically. 

September  2,  1897. 
I  see  by  a  local  paper  that  Miss  Carrington's  leaflet, 
''Spare  the  Sparrow,"  is  out,  and  is  procurable  from  the 
Hon.  Sec.  of  the  Humanitarian  League,  53,  Chancery  Lane, 
London,  W.C.,  price  id.  I  have  now  written  to  the  Hon. 
Sec,  enclosing  8d.,  and  requesting  him  to  send  six  copies 
to  myself,  and  two  to  yourself.  This  leaflet,  I  think,  will  be 
spirity.  There  are  only  a  few  lines  quoted,  but  if  the  rest  is 
so  discourteous  and  inaccurate  it  will  not  be  of  much 
value. 


i66  LETTERS  TO   MR.   TEGETMEIER     [Chap.  xvi. 

Amongst  applicants  for  my  leaflet,  the  Duchess  of 
Somerset  and  also  Lady  Alwyne  Compton  have  asked  for 
copies,  which  I  am  glad  of.  If  it  were  ''fashionable"  not  to 
protect  sparrows  this  would  go  far  with  some  people.  I  am 
longing  to  see  the  reply  leaflet.  I  expect  I  am  roundly 
abused,  but  I  think  it  is  rather  strong  to  head  something  or 
other  in  the  ''  Animal's  Friend  "  for  September  ''  God  Save 
the  Sparrow."  I  expect  we  shall  very  likely  have  Maine 
and  Auxerre,  and  Frederick  the  Great,  and  the  cherries  and 
cockroaches  and  the  whole  story  resuscitated  ! 

September  ii,  1897. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Yorkshire  Union  of  Agricultural 
Associations  asked  for  some  leaflets,  and  with  his  consent  I 
have  sent  him  down  2,000  copies,  which  gives  one  for  each 
member  of  the  Agricultural  Clubs  or  Chambers  in  the 
Yorkshire  Union,  and  the  matter  is  to  be  brought  before 
the  next  quarterly  meeting,  with  the  view,  the  Secretary 
says,  of  seeing  about  asking  the  Board  of  Agriculture  to 
remove  P.  domesticus  from  the  list  of  protected  birds.  Mr. 
Crawford  wrote  me  acknowledgment  of  receipt  of  the 
leaflets  I  sent  by  his  desire  to  the  Board  of  Agriculture, 
and  said  that  next  week,  when  the  Secretary  returns,  they 
will  be  laid  before  the  Board.  I  wonder  what  they  will  do  ? 
Daily  applications  are  running  from  seventeen  or  eighteen 
to  thirty — and  some  very  good.  To-day  I  have  one  from 
Smyrna  and  one  from  Stavanger,  Norway. 

September  19,  1897. 

The  applications  are  going  on  so  well  that  I  have  had 
to  order  a  fourth  5,000  of  the  leaflets  to  be  printed  as  soon 
as  can  be  managed,  and  of  these  over  2,000  are  bespoken. 
A  few  days  ago  3,000  were  wanted  for  a  Scotch  centre,  the 
Agent-General  for  New  South  Wales  will  send  out  500, 
and  other  distributions  are  floating  about ;  I  think  this  is 
not  bad. 

October  16,  1897. 

As  you  will  see  by  the  enclosed,  I  am  now  working  on 
the  twenty-first  thousand.  I  have  only  about  fifty  copies 
left,  and  Mr.  Newman  has  sent  out  some  of  the  twenty- 
second  thousand,  so  I  think  that  we  are  doing  well.  One 
of  the  largest  amounts  asked  for  lately  has  been  1,000 
for  the  Lancashire  County  Council,  and  also  a  little  while 
ago  Lady  Aberdeen  wrote  for  a  small  supply  from  the 
Government  House,  Canada. 

October  27,  1897. 

I  hope  you  will  be  pleased  to  hear  that  I  have  brought 


1898.]  THE   HOUSE   SPARROW  167 

our  sparrow  work  under  the  notice  of  Mr.  [now  Sir 
Ernest]  Clarke,  Secretary,  Royal  Agricultural  Society — 
I  hope  in  a  way  to  advance  our  work.  I  sent  him 
a  couple  of  the  twenty-second  thousand,  with  a  sort  of 
report  letter,  giving  some  points.  Mr.  Clarke  has  replied 
very  courteously  that  he  is  much  obliged  for  my  interesting 
letter,  which  he  will  lay  before  the  Society's  Zoological 
Committee.  Also  that,  as  he  is  occasionally  asked  for  the 
leaflet,  it  might  '^save  me  (E.  A.  O.)  unnecessary  corre- 
spondence "  if  he  were  able  to  send  copies  to  inquirers. 
I  am  delighted  to  follow  up  this  suggestion — for  practically 
it  is  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  distributing  for  us,  and 
thus  giving  their  marked  approval.  I  wonder  what  will 
come  of  the  Zoological  Committee's  consideration.  As 
the  President  of  the  Society  has  such  an  exceedingly  bad 
opinion  of  the  sparrow,  I  hope  we  may  get  some  good 
coUeagueship.  I  am  perpetually  asked  how  to  destroy 
sparrows,  but  I  refer  the  inquirers  to  you.  I  am  longing 
to  hear  when  your  book  will  come  out — surely  it  will  have 
a  good  circulation.  I  am  well  advanced  now  in  the  twenty- 
second  thousand,  and  the  information  is  well  spread,  for  we 
have  a  splendid  notice — much  more  than  a  column — in  the 
"  Madras  Mail,"  and  I  have  had  two  applications  from 
scientific  U.S.A.  centres. 

I  am  still  dispensing  knowledge  about  the  evil  ways  of 
P.  domesticus  so  steadily  that  I  have  had  to  order  a  sixth 
impression. 

The  store  of  letters  grew  to  such  a  size  that  a  week  or  two 
ago  I  sent  them  (excepting  about  seventy  which  were  to 
some  degree  private)  in  a  great  parcel  to  Mr.  Janson,  and 
I  have  arranged  with  him  that  this  great  mass,  perhaps  of 
1,500  or  1,600  letters,  should  be  sorted  out  into  those  that 
are  merely  applications  for  leaflets  and  those  which  contain 
any  information. 

The  overwork  and  worry  was  too  much  for  me,  joined  to 
my  bad  fall,  and  I  was  very  far  indeed  from  well  for  some 
time  with  gout  and  exhausting  troubles,  but  I  am  better, 
and  regaining  strength. 

September  14,  1898. 

I  most  truly  think  it  a  great  distinction  that  my  name 
should  be  associated  [on  the  title-page  of  "The  House 
Sparrow"]  with  that  of  an  Ornithologist  of  such  world- 
wide reputation  as  yourself,  and  as  it  is  your  wish  I 
very  heartily  agree.  The  only  alteration  I  would  suggest 
is  that  the  word  "  Miss  "  should  be  removed.     I  do  not  like 


i68  LETTERS  TO   MR.  TEGETMEIER     [Chap.  xvi. 

the  word  if  it  is  not  quite  needed  ;  and  would  it  not  be  well 
to  add  a  reference  to  my  being  an  authorised  agricultural 
worker  ?  It  may  protect  me  from  some  ''  mendacities," 
and,  a  better  reason,  show  that  we  are  attentive  to  all  three 
of  the  points  (Ornithology,  Entomology,  and  Agriculture) 
on  which  anti-passerine  observation  rests. 

I  like  your  frontispiece  (figs,  c  and  D,  kindly  lent  by 
Mr.  Tegetmeier)  very  much.  It  is  very  pretty  as  well  as 
very  useful.  When  your  book  appears  I  shall  like  to  get 
some  copies  to  send  to  some  of  my  own  friends,  British 
and  extra-British. 

April  15,  1899. 

It  was  a  great  pleasure  to  me  to  see  ^'  The  House 
Sparrow"  yesterday,  followed  this  morning  by  your  kind 
and  cordial  letter.  I  like  your  book  exceedingly  ;  it  appears 
to  me  to  be  exactly  what  is  needed.  Chapter  IV.  [Diminish- 
ing the  Sparrow  Plague]  meets  the  want  which  is  greatly 
felt,  and  your  voice  being  raised  against  poisoning  will  do 
good.  I  propose  to  send  samples  to  the  Agents-General  of 
South  Australia  and  New  Zealand,  where  the  ^' Avian  Rats" 
are  special  pests  ;  also  to  Mr.  McKinnon,  for  the  benefit  of 
the  Republic  of  Uruguay. 

I  think  one  or  two  would  be  well  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  U.S.A.  I  suppose  that 
in  an  obviously  much-needed  matter  like  this  it  is  hopeless 
to  expect  our  Board  of  Agriculture  to  do  anything.  But  I 
have,  besides  the  above,  several  centres  of  work  which  I  hope 
to  make  use  of. 

I  do  hope  that  your  book  will  have  the  success  that  it 
deserves,  and  be  of  infinite  benefit.  I  like  it  thoroughly — 
its  pretty  dress,  the  good  figures  and  readable  type  on  strong 
paper ;  it  is  a  National  gift,  in  your  good  and  authoritative 
working  up  of  the  subject,  and  I  feel  myself  honoured  to  be 
associated  with  you  in  the  good  work  and  the  pummelling, 
which  I  dare  say  we  shall  get  more  of ! 

With  my  very  kind  regards  and  remembrances,  believe 
me,  Yours  very  sincerely, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

LETTERS  TO  MR.  MARTIN,  MR.  GEORGE,  MR.  CONNOLD 
AND  MESSRS.  COLEMAN  AND  SONS 

Elm-bark   and    Ash-bark    beetles — Roman   remains — Bladder    plums — The 

Silver  Y-moth. 

A  NUMBER  of  interesting  and  important  fresh  subjects  are 
here  concisely  treated  in  letters  addressed  to  various  British 
inquirers.  These  are  merely  characteristic  samples  of  a  vast 
amount  of  correspondence  for  which  space  could  not  be 
found. 

To  the  Rev.  John  Martin,  Charley  Hally  Loughborough, 

ToRRiNdTON  House,  St.  Albans, 

April  2,  1897, 
Dear  Sir, — From  your  description  of  the  elm-bark 
attack,  I  should  certainly  think  that  the  maggots  were 
those  of  the  Elm-bark  beetle,  the  destructor.  If  you  do 
not  feel  certain  after  this  hint  as  to  the  nature  of  the 
infestation,  and  will  send  me  a  little  piece  of  bark,  I  will 
with  pleasure  examine  it  and  report  to  you.  This  in- 
festation does  not  injure  the  timber  of  the  tree.  The 
burrowings  are  mostly  between  the  bark  and  the  wood, 
though  necessarily  there  are  a  number  of  borings  through 
the  bark,  caused  by  the  entrance  and  exit  of  the  beetles. 
It  would  be  desirable  to  fell  the  trees,  and  peel  off  the 
bark  and  burn  it.  The  timber  would  be  quite  good  (so 
far  as  this  matter  is  concerned)  but  if  the  bark  is  left, 
the  maggots  will  in  due  course  develop  to  beetles  and 
fly  off  to  continue  mischief  elsewhere.  Further  I  would 
suggest  that  you  should  direct  your  wood-superintendents  to 
examine  whether  other  elms  show  shot-like  holes  in  their 
bark — the  sign  of  the  presence  of  the  infestation.     From 

your  mention  of  the  locality  of  the  trees  being  rather  damp, 

169 


lyo 


LETTERS   TO   MR.   MARTIN      [Chap.  xvii. 


I  should  conjecture  that  the  trees  were  not  in  absolutely 
perfect  health,  and  this  is  the  state  of  things  the  beetle  pre- 
fers for  its  attack.  Injured  boughs,  or  moderately  recently- 
fallen  boughs,  or,  above  all,  felled  elm  trunks  in  which 
there  is  still  sap,  but  not  flow  enough  to  stifle  the  little 
maggots,  are  the  very  headquarters  of  infestation,  and  it  is 
quite  worth  while  to  have  such  felled  trunks  peeled  and  the 
bark  destroyed,  or  they  will  be  the  nurseries  of  great  mis- 


Beetle,  much  magnified  (from  "  Poorest  Protection,"  by  W,  R.  Fisher)  ; 
workings  in  elm  bark — from  life. 

FIG.   35. — ELM-BARK   BEETLE,   SCOLYTUS  DESTRUCTOR,   OLIV. 


chief.     If  you  will  supply  me  with  more  detail  I  will  with 
great  pleasure  give  my  very  best  attention. 

April  5,  1897. 

The  little  larvae  came  safely  yesterday  and  the  specimens 

of   bark  this  morning.     Necessarily  when   the  attack  has 

been   going  on  so  long  the  burrows  intersect  each  other 

so   very   much   that  they  cease   to  show  the  typical  pat- 


i899.] 


ELM-BARK   BEETLE 


171 


terning  or  tracks,  but  I  do  not  see  any  reason  at  all  to  doubt 
that  this  is  attack  of  the  very  great  elm-pest,  the  Elm-bark 
beetle.  With  regard  to  its  infestation  of  other  trees  besides 
elm,  I  have  no  knowledge  of  its  ever  attacking  either  oak  or 
ash,  but  on  careful  search  I  find  that  one  German  writer 
records  it  as  '^sometimes"  attacking  the  ash.  I  greatly 
doubt  this  having  been  observed  in  our  country.  Our 
ashes  have,  however,  a  bark  beetle  which  tunnels  much 
in  the  same  manner  between  the  bark  and  wood,  and  of 
which  the  presence  may  similarly  be  known  by  the  shot- 
like holes  in  the  bark.  But  you  would  distinguish  the 
difference  in  pattern  of  gallery  at  a  glance  on  raising  the 
bark.  As  in  the  figure  given,  the  mother  -  gallery  is 
branched.     This   Ash-bark   beetle,   Hylesinus  fraxini,  does 


Workings,  showing  forked  "mother  gallery,"  with  larval  galleries 
from  the  sides. 

FIG.   36. — TUNNELS  OF  THE  ASH-BARK  BEETLE,   HYLESINUS  FRAXINI,   FAB. 


not  do  very  much  harm,  for  it  chiefly  attacks  felled 
trunks,  or  sometimes  sickly  or  damaged  trunks  and  boughs. 
It  is  not  to  be  compared  in  its  ravages  with  the  Scolytus, 
well-named  destructor.  I  am  not  aware  of  this  ever  attack- 
ing oak. 

April  12,  1899. 
You  have  certainly  two  kinds  of  bark  attack  present  in 
the  specimens  which  you  send  me,  but  without  the  beetles 
I  am  not  able  to  say  at  all  what  species  may  have  been 
doing  the  mischief.  I  can  say  quite  certainly  that  I  do  not 
see  any  signs  of  the  presence  of  the  Hylesinus  fraxini 
(Ash-bark  beetle),  but  I  have  never,  so  far  as  I  remember, 
seen   the  very  long,   narrow   borings,   hardly  wider  than 


172  LETTERS  TO   MR.    MARTIN      [Chap.  xvii. 

a  thread  of  silk,  which  are  a  good  deal  represented  on  the 
inner  surface  of  one  of  your  pieces  of  bark. 

There  are  two  or  three  grubs  in  fairly  good  condition 
which  I  have  gently  inserted  into  a  burrow  in  the  little  bit 
of  bark  and  have  put  carefully  aside  in  the  little  box,  and  if 
these  develop,  we  shall  then  know  what  we  have  to  deal 
with.  Perhaps  you  may  be  able  to  secure  some  beetles  in 
a  month  or  two;  it  would  be  of  interest  to  make  out  the 
attack  with  certainty. 

November  ^jy  1899. 

I  have  very  carefully  examined  your  beetle  and  find  that 
it  is  Hylesinus  crenatus,  sometimes  known  as  the  ^^  Large 
Ash-bark  beetle  "   to  distinguish  it  from  Hylesinus  fraxini, 


I,  Beetle,  with  wings  expanded,  and  one  wing-case  drawn  only  in 
outline,  to  show  lower  part  of  wing  ;  2,  beetle  as  usually  seen — 
magnified  ;  3,  smaller  and  paler  variety  ;  also  lines  showing  natural 
length. 

FIG.  37.— GREATER  ASH-BARK   BEETLE,  HYLESINUS  CRENATUS,   FAB. 

the  ^^  Ash-bark"  or  the  ^' Small  Ash-bark  beetle.''  The 
life  history  of  each  kind  is  stated  to  be  the  same,  and  I 
think,  if  I  remember  rightly,  that  some  time  ago,  perhaps 
a  year  or  so,  in  the  course  of  our  occasional  correspondence, 
we  have  gone  into  the  history  of  the  fraxini,  but  if  not  I 
should  have  pleasure  in  either  looking  up  the  account  in 
my  Manual  and  sending  the  pages  to  you  or  condensing  the 
points. 

There  appears  to  me  to  be  this  difference  in  method  of 
larval  proceedings  :  that  whereas  in  the  case  of  fraxini  the 
parent  galleries  are  formed  somewhat  in  the  shape  of  a  T, 


IQOO.] 


ASH-BARK   BEETLES 


173 


with  a  short  stem  and  long  arms  to  the  top,  and  the  larval 
galleries  placed  at  right  angles  to  the  others  (fig.  36),  so 
far  as  I  understand  this  form  is  not  followed  by  crenatiis 

(fig.  38). 

The  beetle  obviously  pierces  the  bark,  for  the  orifice  is 
visible  ;  and  in  or  under  the  bark  there  are  the  mother- 
galleries,  but  I  do  not  find  the  larval  galleries  feathering  as 
it  were  from  these,  and  the  figure  before  me  gives  the  idea 
of  the  body  of  larvae  having  by  their  united  attack  cleared 
a  flat  space  from  which  they  have  continued  their  solitary 
tunnels.     Perhaps  in  cutting  up  your  trees  you  may  come 


FIG.   38. — PIECE  OF  ASH   BARK,    SHOWING  MOTHER   GALLERIES  OF 
HYLESINUS   CRENATUS  ON   THE   INNER   SIDE, 


on  some  of  these  markings.  It  is  said  that  there  are  two 
generations  in  the  year,  of  which  the  flight  time  of  one  is  in 
April  and  of  the  other  in  October.  This  species  frequents 
oak  as  well  as  ash,  which  is  an  important  consideration, 
and  I  find  it  noted  as  frequenting  old  trees.  These  are  the 
main  points  which  I  see  about  the  history.  I  should  think 
that  if  you  find  the  trees  which  you  have  felled  much  in- 
fested, it  would  be  a  good  thing  to  strip  the  bark  off 
and  burn  it. 

June  25,  1900. 
I    am    very  much    obliged    to    you    for    all    the    great 
trouble  which  you  have  been  good  enough  to  take  about 


174  LETTER  TO   MR.   GEORGE      [Chap.  xvii. 

the  Ash-bark  beetles,  including  your  letter  of  the  23rd  and 
the  box  of  specimens  received  to-day.  Some  of  the  work- 
ings are  quite  certainly  of  H.fraxini.  One  bit  catches  the 
eye  at  a  glance  as  showing  quite  typical  galleries.  In  the 
long  strip  the  workings  are  not  so  clearly  distinguishable. 
According  to  descriptions  or  comparison  with  other 
specimens  they  appear  to  me  of  both  kinds.  But  I  really 
cannot  think  of  giving  you  further  trouble.  We  have  all 
that  is  needed  to  make  out  a  good,  sound  account,  and 
I  hope,  if  all  be  well,  to  do  justice  to  the  subject  in  my  next 
Annual  Report,  and  that  you  will  be  satisfied  with  my 
working  up  of  the  points  of  the  infestation. 
With  renewed  hearty  thanks,  yours  very  truly, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 

To  A.  W,  George,  Esq.,  Sedbury,  Tidenham,  Chepstow,  Agent 
on  Sedbury  Estate. 

TORRINGTON    HoUSE,    St.   AlBANS, 

February  17,  1897. 
Dear  Sir, — My  work  is  chiefly  on  injurious  insects,  so  I 
am  afraid  I  am  not  qualified  to  give  you  the  exact  name  of 
this  curious  collection  of  cement-like  pupa-cases.  Still 
I  may  say  that  your  description  most  resembles  those  of 
the  Mason  bee,  a  kind  of  Osniia  which  constructs  cells  of  a 
plaster  formed  of  little  morsels  of  stone,  earth,  &c.,  and 
then  fills  them  with  food  and  lays  an  e,gg  on  it,  walls  up  the 
cell,  and  begins  another.  The  grub  in  due  course  hatches 
and  feeds,  and  goes  through  its  changes  to  the  perfect  bee 
— and  somehow  or  other  manages  to  make  its  exit.  These 
cells  are  sometimes  made  on  walls,  in  parties  of  as  many  as 
a  dozen  (as  shown  in  a  figure  before  me),  but  as  I  said,  I  am 
not  a  '^specialist"  on  Hynienoptera  (Bees  and  Wasps),  so  I 
would  not  like  to  express  a  decided  opinion.  Your  mention 
of  the  Roman  coin  found  near  the  Severn  cliffs  is  very 
interesting,  for  it  was  quite  inexplicable  to  my  father  how  it 
happened  that,  whilst  coins  are  just  the  things  often  found 
in  such  great  plenty  amongst  Roman  remains  in  the 
pottery,  bones,  &c.,  of  which  there  was  such  quantity  in 
the  site  of  the  Summer  Station  of  the  Augustan  Legion 
from  Caerwent  on  the  Sedbury  cliffs,  we  absolutely  did  not 
have  a  single  coin.  Circumstances  since  we  left  have  made 
me  think  that  the  word  I  have  underlined  may  be  more 
correct  than  that  none  were  found.  On  one  occasion  it 
chanced  I  went  when  the  ditch-diggers  were  at  their 
dinners,  and  under  a  little  shelter  of  turf  (which  naturally  I 


PLATE      XXV 


KuiNS  OF  Chepstow  Castle,  Monmouthshire. 
{p.  16.) 


To  face  p.  174. 


1900.]  MASON   BEE  175 

inspected)  I  found  a  very  nice  little  Samian  cup.  No 
more  were  reported  as  found  ;  but  after  we  left  I  heard  of 
a  box  being  in  one  of  the  lofts  over  the  stables,  addressed 
to  myself,  which  when  opened  was  found  to  contain  more 
of  these  Samian  cups,  and  also  geological  specimens  from 
the  cliffs.  Of  course  I  wrote  down  at  once,  but  (perhaps 
equally  of  course)  by  that  time  the  box  had  vanished. 
Your  letter  of  this  morning  recalled  all  this  to  me,  and 
made  me  think  that  very  likely  the  domestic  collector 
of  curiosities  who  appropriated  the  Samian  cups  also 
made  a  little  collection  of  the  coins,  whose  total  absence 
appeared  so  surprising.  This  is  a  very  long  story,  but 
I  thought  it  might  be  of  some  interest  to  you. 

I  suppose  most  of  our  old  work-people  are  gone  ? 

Might  I  venture  to  trouble  you,  in  case  you  should  be 
good  enough  some  day  to  find  time  to  write,  kindly  to  let  me 
know  whether  my  father  and  mother's  grave  (vault)  just  below 
the  high  bank  with  the  pathway  on  the  top  in  Tidenham 
Churchyard  (plate  Vll.)  is  in  proper  repair  ?  If  anything  is 
requisite  I  think  you  would  likely  be  so  very  good  as  to  tell 
me,  and  to  whom  I  should  apply  to  do  the  work.  Trusting 
you  will  forgive  the  intrusion  on  your  time  of  such  a  long 
letter,  I  beg  to  remain,  yours  truly, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 

To  Edward  T.  Comiold,  Esq.,  F.E.S.,  Hon.  General  Secretary^ 
Hastings  and  St.  Leonards  Natural  History  Society. 

TORRINGTON    HOUSE,   St.  ALBANS, 

Jw/y  4,  1900. 
Dear  Sir, — I  think  that  perhaps  before  this  reaches  you, 
you  will  have  heard  from  the  Rev.  E.  N.  Blomfield  that 
these  curiously  formed  damsons,  of  which  you  have  for- 
warded me  such  excellent  specimens,  owe  the  galled  growth 
to  the  attack  of  a  parasite  fungus.  They  are  what  you  called 
popularly  Bladder  plums,  or  Pocket  plums  (fig.  39),  and  the 
cause  of  this  extraordinary  growth  is  the  presence  of  the 
fungus  Exoascus  primi.  I  do  not  myself  work  on  Fungi,  so 
I  should  not  have  considered  myself  qualified  to  give  you 
trustworthy  information,  but  I  see  in  Professor  Marshall 
Ward's  good  account  of  this  attack,  that,  besides  reproduction 
taking  place  by  means  of  the  spores  carrying  the  disease 
from  tree  to  tree,  he  mentions  that  the  fungus  can  carry 
on  its  existence  from  year  to  year  by  means  of  its 
mycelium  in  the  branches.  Consequently  much  pruning 
back,  as  well  as  collecting  and  burning  the  ^^  pockets,"  is 


176  LETTERS  TO   MR.  CONNOLD     [Chap.  xvii. 

needed  to  combat  the  attack  to  any  serviceable  extent. 
I  am  not  troubling  you  with  details,  for  you  would  find 
them  so  well  entered  on  in  Ward's  useful  little  book,  of 
which  I  gave  the  name  yesterday  to  Mr.  Blomfield,  that  I 
think  you  would  prefer  them  in  his  wording.  Hoping 
I  may  have  assisted  you  a  little  in  the  matter. 

December  19,  1900. 
I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  the  kind  thought  of  send- 
ing me  the  photo  of  the  Bladder  plums.  This  shows  the 
difference  between  the  healthy  and  the  diseased  fruit  so 
well  that  if  I  had  not  secured  a  figure  of  the  diseased  growth 
I  think  I  should  have  asked  your  permission  to  copy  part 


FIG,   39. — POCKET  OR   BLADDER   PLUM   INFLATED  AND   DISTORTED   BY 

THE  FUNGOID  ATTACK  OF  EXOASCUS  PRUNi  (After  Sorauer). 

for  my  next  Annual  Report.  This  assuredly  is  not  an  insect 
attack.  Still,  as  it  may  very  often  give  rise  to  much  per- 
plexity, I  thought  that  (with  due  explanation)  there  could 
be  no  objection  to  including  your  good  contribution,  and  I 
hope  that  when  in  due  time  you  receive  your  "  contributor's 
copy  "  you  will  not  disapprove. 

About  Dr.  Nalepa's  publications  ;  I  dare  not  offer  to  lend 
them,  for  all  I  have  are  copies  presented  successively  during 
a  long  course  of  years,  and  if  any  mishap  occurred,  I  should 
be  in  a  difficult  position.  But  if  you  have  not  yet  applied 
to  them,  Messrs.  W.  Wesley  &  Son  would  be  more  likely  to 
help  you  than  anybody  I  am  acquainted  with.     They  would 


I900.]  BLADDER   OR   POCKET   PLUMS  177 

almost  certainly  be  able  to  give  you  the  titles  of  the  succes- 
sive publications  and  prices,  and  also  procure  for  you  such 
as  are  published.  At  one  time  I  worked  a  great  deal  on 
vegetable  galls,  Cynips  galls  chiefly,  but  Phytophis  galls 
I  have  always  found  so  very  troublesome  in  several  points 
of  view  that  I  have  never  worked  on  them  more  than  I  can 
help.     Very  truly  yours, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 

To  Messrs.  W.  J.  Coleman  &  Sons,  Fruit,  Pea,  and  Potato 
Salesmen,  Covent  Garden  Market. 

TORRINGTON  HoUSE,  St.  AlBANS, 

August  I,  1900. 

Dear  Sirs, — I  would  very  gladly  help  you  about  the 
moth-caterpillar  attack  on  your  potatoes,  but  I  am  afraid 
that  without  caterpillar  or  moth  I  cannot  name  it.  There 
are  very  many  infestations  to  potato  of  caterpillars,  nearly 
allied  to  what  you  will,  I  think,  very  likely  know  well  as 
the  "  Turnip  grub."  These  are  so  numerous  that  it  would 
be  quite  hopeless  for  me  to  endeavour  to  name  merely  from 
description  and  the  chrysalides;  and  even  with  the  caterpillar 
it  would  have  been  difficult  (though  I  would  with  pleasure 
have  tried),  on  account  of  some  of  these  pests  greatly 
resembling  each  other,  and  also  some  (identical  grubs) 
altering  their  colours  completely  as  they  moult.  I  should 
have  been  glad  to  help  you,  but  as  these  creatures  are  now 
turning  to  chrysalides  the  attack  is  presumably  nearly  over 
for  the  present. 

P.S. — For  general  use  in  an  attack  of  this  kind  the  spray 
that  you  have  been  using,  which  is  very  nearly  equivalent 
to  the  U.S.A.  kerosene  emulsion,  is  probably  about  as  good 
as  you  could  try  ;  for  I  conjecture  that  you  might  not  like 
to  try  ''  Paris-green "  ?  Possibly  this  would  not  answer, 
and  for  various  reasons— it  being  a  ground  crop  as  well  as 
the  tuber  a  food  crop — it  might  not  be  desirable  ;  still,  I 
just  name  it. 

August  4,  1900. 

I  am  obliged  by  the  fresh  specimens  of  caterpillars 
received  this  morning  from  your  agent,  Mr.  Carswell,  and 
from  these  and  the  moths  coming  out  to-day  from  the 
chrysalides  previously  sent  me,  I  am  able  to  say  that  the 
larvae  are  those  of  the  Pliisia  gamma  moth,  popularly  known 
as  the  Silver  Y-moth.  I  am  not  aware  of  these  caterpillars 
having  been  recorded  as  injurious  to  potato  leafage,  except- 
ing in  the  year  1892,  when  I  had  information  of  two  attacks 
to  this  crop,  in  both  instances  from  caterpillars  migrating 

13 


178  LETTERS  TO   MESSRS.   COLEMAN     [Chap.  xvii. 

from  clover.  It  is  too  late  to-night  to  give  you  a  detailed 
account,  but  I  write  now,  as  you  will  be  interested  to  have 
the  identification  as  soon  as  possible. 

August  5,  1900. 
Your  potato  attack  is,  as  I  mentioned  last  evening, 
caused  by  the  caterpillar  of  the  Silver  Y-moth,  so  named 
from  a  small  bright  mark  on  the  fore-wings,  in  shape  like 
the  English  Y  or  the  Greek  Gamma,  The  moth  is  about 
half  an  inch  in  the  spread  of  the  fore-wings,  which  have  a 
satiny  lustre  and  are  varied  with  rich  coppery,  as  well  as  grey 
and  brown,  marks.  The  hinder  wings  are  greyish,  with  a 
brown  border.  The  caterpillars  are  fairly  recognisable  by 
being  what  are  called  '^  half-loopers."  Having  only  two 
pairs  of  sucker  feet  beneath  the  body  (besides  the  customary 
claw  feet)  they  form  a  slight  arch  when  they  walk.  The 
attack  is  occasionally  very  destructive  and  is  one  of  those 


I,  Eggs  ;  2,  caterpillar  ;  3,  chrysalis  in  cocoon  ;  4,  moth. 

FIG.   40.— GAMMA   OR   SILVER   Y-MOTH,   PLUS r A   GAMMA,   LINN. 

which  we  have  proof  of  having  been  blown  to  us,  in  moth 
condition,  from  the  Continent ;  and,  from  some  information 
which  has  come  to  my  hands  since  I  received  your  letter, 
I  think  it  is  not  at  all  unlikely  such  may  be  the  case  now, 
with  another  kind  of  crop.  The  caterpillars  feed  on  many 
plants,  those  of  the  cabbage  and  turnip  kind  especially  ; 
also  on  Leguminosce,  as  peas  and  beans.  Sugar  beet  they 
are  destructively  partial  to.  I  should  not  at  all  think  that 
the  attack  was  likely  to  recur  to  potatoes,  or  that,  as  the 
infestation  is  now  past  its  destructive  stage,  it  was  worth 
troubling  yourselves  about.  If  you  should  desire  more 
about  it  than  I  can  easily  condense  into  a  moderate  letter 
space,  you  would  find  a  careful  account  of  the  attack,  with  a 
good  figure,  in  my  sixteenth  Annual  Report  on  Injurious 
Insects.  Hoping,  however,  that  my  few  notes  may  be  all 
you  require,  yours  truly,  ELEANOR  A.  Ormerod. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

LETTERS  TO   PROFESSOR   RILEY   AND   DR.    HOWARD 

Flour  moth  and  Winter  moth — Orchard  growers'  Committee — John  Curtis — 
Entomology  in  Cape  Colony — Handbooks  and  Reports — The  General 
Index— The  LL.D. 

The  letters  addressed  to  the  two  distinguished  United 
States  officials  are  unlike  most  of  those  we  have  passed. 
Miss  Ormerod  writes,  as  usual,  in  courteous  and  even  in 
deferential  terms  to  the  two  acknowledged  chiefs  among 
Entomological  authorities  in  America.  The  considerable 
variety  of  subjects  touched  upon  are  dealt  with  in  less  simple 
language,  and  minor  details  give  place  to  discussions  on  the 
higher  polity  of  Economic  Entomology.  The  letters  contain 
internal  evidence  of  the  esteem  in  which  her  work  was  held 
by  her  correspondents. 

To  Professof  Riley,  Entomologist  to  the  Agricultural  Depart- 
ment, Washington,  U.S.A. 

TORRINGTON    HOUSE,  St.  ALBANS,  ENGLAND. 

March  6,  i88q. 
Dear  Professor  Riley, — We  have  got  a  flour  caterpillar 
in  England,  newly  arrived  in  the  last  two  years,  which  is 
so  very  troublesome  and  injurious  where  it  establishes  itself 
that  I  should  like  to  place  a  short  account  of  it  in  your 
hands,  hoping  that  at  your  leisure  (I  should  rather  say  at 
your  best  convenience,  for  leisure  you  have  none)  you  may 
kindly  tell  me  whether  you  have  it  in  the  U.S.A.,  and,  if  so, 
whether  you  manage  to  keep  it  in  check.  The  caterpillars 
were  first  observed  in  Europe  in  1877  by  Dr.  Jul.  Kuhn,  of 
Halle,  doing  much  mischief  during  the  process  of  grinding 
some  American  wheat.    The  imagines  from  these  larvae  were 

placed  by  Dr.  Kuhn  in  the  hands  of  Professor  Zeller,  who 

179 


i8o        LETTERS  TO   PROFESSOR   RILEY     [Chap,  xviii. 

considered  them  to  be  Ephestia  of  a  species  previously 
undescribed,  and  they  were  named  by  him  kuhniella  (fig.41) 
specifically  after  their  observer.  All  this  most  likely  you 
know  well,  but  it  is  the  appearance  of  this  '^pest"  here 
which  I  am  more  particularly  writing  to  you  about.  In 
1887  the  caterpillars  did  great  harm  in  some  large  stores  in 
London,  and  last  year  the  attack  established  itself  in  a 
wheat-flour  steam-mill  in  the  North  of  England.  The 
great  harm  caused  is  by  reason  of  the  caterpillars  "  felting  " 
up  the  meal  or  flour  by  the  quantity  of  web  w^hich  they 
spin  in  it.  They  feed,  of  course,  but  this  is  not  so  injurious 
as  working  up  the  flour  together,  as  thus  they  clog  the  mill 
apparatus  to  a  very  serious  extent.  I  have  much  reduced 
their  numbers  by  getting  the  manager  of  the  steam-mill  to 
turn  on  steam  to  scald  them;  and  cleaning,  whitewashing,  and 
some  use  of  paraffin  have  done  good.  The  real  cure  would 
be  to  change  the  material  ground.     If  we  could  use  rye- 


I,  Moth,  with  wings  expanded  ;  2,  moth,  at  rest  ;  3,  caterpillar  ; 
4,  chrysalis — all  magnified  ;  lines  showing  natural  length. 

FIG.   41. — MEDITERRANEAN   FLOUR  MOTH,  EPHESTIA   KUHNIELLA,  ZELL. 


meal  for  a  few  weeks  we  could  clear  out  effectually  this 
wheat-flour-feeding  caterpillar.  Unfortunately,  however,  the 
delicate  apparatus  of  our  recently  arranged  wheat  ''  roller " 
mills  does  not  allow  of  this.  One  point  that  would  help  us 
in  preventive  measures  would  be  to  know  where  the  attack 
comes  from.  I  am  told  it  is  a  *'  scourge  "  amongst  the  flour 
(or  rather  the  meal,  as  it  prefers  the  more  branny  parts)  in 
wheat  from  Russia  and  Hungary  at  the  Mediterranean  ports, 
so  I  am  making  inquiries  ;  but  Dr.  Lindeman  is  not  aware 
of  this  attack  having  been  noticed  in  Russia.  Under  these 
circumstances  I  thought  that  I  would  write  to  you  about  it, 
and  if  you  are  acquainted  with  this  moth  and  the  larval 


1889.]  FLOUR  MOTH  181 

working,  and,  still  more,  if  you  know  how  to  destroy  it,  I 
should  feel  greatly  favoured  and  obliged  by  any  information 
that  you  may  kindly  give.  I  believe  that  unless  it  has 
very  recently  been  placed  on  your  American  lists  of  Lepi- 
doptera  it  is  not  noted  as  known  there,  and  I  am  trying  to 
persuade  myself  that  it  is  not  all  selfishness  which  makes 
me  trouble  you  thus,  but  that  if  by  any  possibility  you  may 
not  chance  to  have  heard  of  the  serious  nature  of  the  work 
of  these  larvae,  you  may  care  to  have  a  few  lines  about 
them.  The  moth  is  about  f  in.  in  spread  of  the  fore-wings, 
which  are  of  pale  grey  with  darker  transverse  markings  ; 
the  hinder  wings  remarkable  for  their  whitish  semi-trans- 
parency with  a  darker  line  from  the  point  along  a  part  of 
the  fore  edge.  The  larvae,  when  full-grown,  as  far  as  I  see, 
are  about  five-eighths  of  an  inch  long.  You  will  not  care 
to  have  full  description,  but  they  have  surprising  instinct 
for  travelling,  and  amazing  strength.  One  that  I  watched 
to  test  this  power  escaped  from  under  a  little  smooth-edged 
cardboard  frame  which  I  had  placed  on  a  woollen  cloth  on 
a  quite  flat  table  and  pressed  down  with  a  one  pound 
weight. 

I  hope  before  long  to  forward*  my  twelfth  Report  for  your 
acceptance  and  that  it  may  meet  your  approval. 

June  22,  1889. 
I  have  not  until  to-day  been  able  to  find  time  to  study 
your  interesting  and  instructive  Report  (which  reached  me 
a  little  while  ago),  and  now  after  my  best  thanks  I  hasten  to 
offer  some  observations  about  our  use  over  here  of  the  word 
paraffin — see  p.  104  of  your  Report.  So  far  as  I  know  or 
can  learn,  the  different  oils  sold  under  the  name  of  paraffin, 
kerosene,  or  crystal  oil,  only  differ  from  each  other  by 
reason  of  treatment  to  secure  various  degrees  of  purity  or 
refinement.  The  common  paraffin  oil  is  the  coarsest ; 
kerosene  I  understand  is  a  little  more  refined,  and  a  trifle 
higher  in  price  ;  and  crystal  oil — or  (as  it  is  sometimes 
described  in  the  trade)  '^Ai  Crystal  Oil" — is  limpid  like 
water,  and  the  purest  of  all.  I  do  not  know  why,  but 
kerosene  is  a  name  little  used  here.  Paraffin  is  certainly  not 
a  correct  term  for  the  fluid  form,  but  this  fluid  or  oil  is  used 
so  enormously  compared  to  the  solid  paraffin  that  the 
appended  word  oil  necessary  for  correct  description  is 
usually  omitted  as  being  understood.  I  quite  feel  it  is  a 
loose  and  inaccurate  plan,  but  so  the  matter  stands.  In 
the  same  number  of  my  Annual  Report  from  which  you 
quote — namely,  that  for  1884  published  1885— at  pp.  66-67, 


i82        LETTERS  TO    PROFESSOR   RILEY     [Chap,  xviii. 

is  a  recipe  for  a  mixture  of  soft  soap  with  *^  paraffin  or  any 
other  mineral  oil."  It  has  been  thoroughly  tried  over  here, 
and  found  very  useful.  If  you  should  think  fit  to  experi- 
ment with  it  I  should  greatly  like  to  know  results. 

A  single  report  of  appearance  of  Hessian  fly  (fig.  15)  here 
has  been  sent  me  on  June  13 — with  specimens  accompany- 
ing— full  grown  but  still  in  larval  condition.  These  were 
on  lower  shoots  of  wheat  of  which  the  plant  was  then 
coming  into  ear  at  Revell's  Hall  near  Hertford — the  farm 
on  which  Hessian  fly  was  first  observed  here. 

September  23,  1889. 

It  was  very  kind  of  you  to  spare  time  to  write  to  me 
before  leaving  England,  and  I  well  know  how  very  much 
occupied  you  must  have  been,  so  must  not  be  selfish 
enough  to  say  how  much  I  regretted  not  being  able  to  have 
both  the  pleasure  and  the  great  benefit  of  a  little  conversation 
with  you. 

I  beg  to  place  in  your  hands  the  little  brochure  which 
I  am  now  issuing  on  one  of  the  consequences  of  warble 
presence,  and  might  I  ask  Mr.  L.  O.  Howard's  acceptance  of 
the  other  copy  ?  You  will  see  I  have  tried  to  condense  the 
points  of  the  subject  into  a  space  that  workers  would  not  be 
frightened  at.  It  would  be  a  great  satisfaction  to  me  if  the  in- 
quiry met  with  your  approval,  and  if  you  should  judge  fit  to 
forward  the  cause  of  prevention  in  your  country,  your  high 
authority  w^ould  be  a  great  help  in  strengthening  my  hands 
here.  If  you  care  to  have  a  packet  of  the  leaflets  for  distri- 
bution it  would  be  only  a  pleasure  to  me  to  send  some  for 
your  acceptance. 

I  have  just  seen  with  great  pleasure  that  the  Association 
of  Economic  Entomologists  has  been  formed,  and  that  they 
have  elected  the  highest  representative  of  the  important 
work  as  their  First  President.  This  is  a  great  satisfaction  to 
me,  and  I  hope  ere  long  I  may  have  the  honour  of  being 
enrolled  amongst  its  members. 

You  pay  me  a  compliment  in  saying  you  would  care 
to  have  an  occasional  contribution  of  mine  in  your 
valuable  ^'  Insect  Life."  If  I  had  anything  that  I  thought 
would  be  of  sufficient  interest  to  send,  I  would  very  gladly 
do  so. 

[Here  a  contribution  on  the  "  Shotborer  Beetle"  (Appen- 
dix D)  followed,  which  was  published  by  Professor  Riley. 
See  also  page  199.] 

April  10,  1890. 

I  must  take  up  a  little  of  your  valuable  time  in  offering 


1890.]  WINTER   MOTH  183 

my  best  thanks  for  the  exceedingly  interesting  transmission, 
received  through  your  kindness  this  morning.  Your  own 
*'  Insect  Life,"  3  pts. ;  ''  The  Root  Knot  disease  "  ;  and  Mr. 
Koebele's  ''AustraUan  Thrips"  are  all  very  valuable  contribu- 
tions to  my  library,  and  I  greatly  wish  I  were  able  to  recipro- 
cate more  worthily.  There  is  one  point  in  reply  to  which,  if 
you  are  quite  willing,  I  should  much  like  to  be  allowed  to 
insert  a  few  lines.  It  is  to  the  paragraph  headed  ''Traps  for 
the  Winter  Moth  Useless,"  p.  289,  of  March  No.  of  "  Insect 
Life."  Mr.  R.  McLachlan  is  mentioned  as  having  stated 
that  traps  which  aim  at  destruction  of  the  males  of  the 
Cheimatobia  bnimata,  Winter  moth  (fig.  30)  are  useless,  as 
enough  will  remain  to  fertilize  the  winged  females.  This  I 
should  have  conjectured  to  be  a  well-known  fact — but  it  is 
not  this  point  which  we  are  in  any  way  working  on,  in  any 
of  the  prevention  details  with  which  I  am  myself  acquainted. 
Our  difficulty,  as  you  will  see  mentioned  in  my  thirteenth 
Report,  if  you  will  kindly  turn  to  p.  67,  is  the  transportation  of 
the  females  in  the  act  of  pairing  by  the  winged  males  to  the 
trees.  This  is  a  point  much  observed  in  this  country,  and  I 
have  to-day  once  again  had  my  attention  drawn  to  this 
difficulty  in  the  matter  of  prevention,  by  a  Somersetshire 
correspondent  who  in  confirmation  of  his  observation  has 
preserved  the  pair  in  his  collection.  It  is  solely  to  meet  this 
difficulty  that  we  use  tarred  boards  and  lights  in  any  pre- 
ventive operations  with  which  I  am  connected.  I  do  not 
see  the  "  Gardeners'  Chronicle,"  and  I  am  not  in  communi- 
cation with  Mr.  McLachlan  or  I  would  have  replied  in  my 
own  country  and  given  the  necessary  explanations,  but,  if 
you  approve,  I  should  much  like  to  be  allowed  to  insert  the 
above  observations,  otherwise  the  various  Superintendents 
and  myself  might  appear  to  your  readers  (whose  good 
opinion  I  should  like  to  merit)  as  wonderfully  ignorant  of 
what  I  believe  is  a  well-known  fact. 

We  have  now  formed  a  kind  of  Society  Conference  with 
Experimental  Committee  of  some  of  our  best  orchard 
growers  in  the  West  of  England  for  the  purpose  of  them- 
selves experimenting,  and  reporting  to  the  frequently 
recurring  meetings  —  as  to  the  effects  of  Paris-green, 
London-purple,  &c.  At  last  our  people  are  roused  to 
feel  that  "  greasing  "  will  not  do  everything. 

I  shall  look  with  exceeding  interest  to  the  result  of  your 
Hypoderma  or  (Estrus  (Warble  and  Botfly)  experiments.  I 
sincerely  hope  that  you  will  be  able  to  rear  the  imago. 

I  have  been  greatly  disturbed  (and  am  consequently  not 


184  LETTERS  TO   DR.    HOWARD     [Chap,  xviii. 

writing  you  in  as  good  form  as  I  could  wish)  by  a  report 
being  published  in  several  of  our  London  papers  that  I  had 
been  thrown  from  a  carriage  and  met  with  serious  injuries. 
This  is  altogether  erroneous,  but  the  many  applications,  and 
much  writing  and  wiring  to  get  the  press  to  stop  the 
report,  has  been  indeed  disturbing,  and  it  has  wasted  me 
much  time. 

With  kind  regards  and  all  good  wishes  from  my  sister  and 
myself,  pray  believe  me,  yours  very  sincerely, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 

To  Dr.  X.  0.  Howard,   Entomologist    U.S.   Department   of 
Agriculture,  Washington. 

TORRINGTON    HOUSE,    St.   ALBANS, 

July  26,  1894. 

Dear  Mr.  Howard, —  I  do  not  myself  know  what 
arrangements  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England 
made  with  John  Curtis. ^ 

In  the  ^'Gardeners'  Chronicle"  for  October  18,  1862, 
however,  I  find  at  p.  983,  vol.  iii.,  the  following  remarks  in  a 
short  notice  of  the  decease  of  John  Curtis,  which  I  transcribe 
in  case  they  should  be  of  interest.  After  mentioning  that 
he  had  for  many  years  been  engaged  in  investigating  the 
habits  of  insects  injurious  to  farm  and  garden  produce,  the 
writer  continues  :  "  These  he  published  in  detached 
memoirs  in  the  '  Gardeners'  Chronicle '  under  the  signa- 
ture of  *  Ruricola,'  and  in  the  'Journal  of  the  Royal 
Agricultural  Society.'  At  a  subsequent  period  they  were 
collected  into  a  single  volume  and  published  under  the 
title  of  '  Farm  Insects.'  It  was  chiefly  on  account  of  the 
value  of  these  articles  that  Mr.  Curtis  was  awarded  a 
pension  from  the  Civil  List  which  was  augmented  about 
three  years  since  on  account  of  the  sad  loss  of  sight  which 
he  experienced."  The  note  is  given  as  quoted  from  the 
'*  Athenaeum,"  and  in  case  you  should  not  have  references 
to  Curtis  having  the  pension  he  so  well  earned,  I  thought 
you  might  care  for  the  extract. 

Thank  you  for  letting  me  know  of  Professor  Riley's  visit 
to  England  ;  I  greatly  desire  to  have  a  long  talk  with  him. 
He  may  have  comfort  in  having  such  a  skilled  successor. 
Special  thanks  also  for  your  paper   on   the   Army   worm, 

^  The  author  of  Farm  Insects  (to  this  day  the  most  beautifully  illus- 
trated standard  work  in  English  on  the  subject)  died  at  Islington  on 
6th  October,  1862. 


1894.]  ARMY-WORM  AND   CUT-WORMS  185 

Lticania  iinipiuictata.^  It  is  such  a  good  one,  and  the 
remedies  so  practicable.  I  hope  to  quote  from  this  presently 
— duly  acknowledged.  You  speak  very  truly  as  to  informa- 
tion not  being  asked  until  the  attack  is  so  set  up  that  much 
hope  of  victory  over  it  is  lost. 

1  should  very  much  like  to  be  allowed  to  offer  my  best 
regards,  and  respectful  expression  of  my  admiration  of 
their  good  w^ork,  to  the  many  kind  friends  who  will 
be  present  at  the  Economic  Entomology  meeting  in  August, 
together  with  my  hearty  good  wishes  for  the  prosperity 
of  the  Association  and  its  members.  I  owe  much  to  the 
kindness  of  my  U.S.A.  colleagues  and  friends. 

October  17,  1894. 

I  hasten  to  thank  you  for  your  letter  received  this  after- 
noon, setting  me  right  as  to  the  origin  of  the  bran-mash 
and  Paris-green  application  for  killing  '^  cut- worms  "  (leather 
jackets).  I  should  indeed  be  sorry  not  to  give  credit  in  the 
right  quarter,  and  you  may  rest  assured  that  the  first  time  I 
have  to  mention  the  matter  this  shall  be  set  right.  I  am 
sorry  also  on  my  account  not  to  have  known  that  this 
remedy  was  in  use,  and  now  you  have  pointed  the  way  I 
shall  be  very  glad  to  look  the  matter  up.  Through  the  kind 
liberality  (public  as  well  as  private),  with  which  I  have  always 
been  treated  by  your  country,  I  have  a  truly  valuable 
library  of  your  U.S.A.  works,  from  which  I  often  and 
gratefully  profit. 

I  am  looking  forward  very  much  to  getting  your  paper 
on  Economic  Entomology,  but  at  present  I  have  only  seen 
pleasant  notices  of  it,  and  I  am  greatly  desirous  to  read  it 
in  extenso.  Attention  to  this  subject  is  spreading  very 
satisfactorily  on  the  Continent.  I  am  now  in  communica- 
tion with  Professor  J.  Jablonowski,  of  the  Entomological 
staff  of  the  Hungarian  Government  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture at  Budapest.  He  is  doing  very  careful  and  good  work 
on  Thysanoptera  (Thrips).  Also  at  Helsingfors  (Finland)  I 
hear  from  Dr.  Enzio  Renter  that  they  are  contemplating 
arranging  an  Entomological  Station,  and  I  hope  I  may  be 
in  communication. 

I  am  now  beginning  to  pass  my  eighteenth  Report  through 
the  press.  One  of  the  interesting  appearances  of  the  past 
season  has  been  a  widely  spread  outbreak  of  Charceas 
graminis,  Antler  moth  (p.  104).     This  was  more  or  less  in 

*  The  larva  of  a  noctuid  moth  which  now  and  then  appears  in  great 
numbers  in  America,  marching  over  the  country  and  destroying  young 
grain  crops,  grasses,  &c. 


i86  LETTERS  TO    DR.    HOWARD     [Chap,  xviii. 

seven  contiguous  counties  in  the  South-west  of  Scotland, 
and  though  not  remarkable  in  itself,  yet,  as  there  were  one 
or  two  competent  observers  on  the  spot,  some  good  notes 
were  secured,  especially  as  to  presence  of  parasites,  which  I 
hope  in  due  time  you  may  find  of  some  interest.  There  was 
much  presence  of  a  Mermis  in  one  district.  Out  of  a  single 
larva  I  withdrew  in  three  pieces  about  i8  inches  of  thread- 
worm. Also  there  was  presence  of  ''  flacherie  "  and  some 
Tachina  larvae.  Dr.  Ritzema  Bos,  of  Wageningen,  who  is 
always  most  kind  in  colleagueship,  helps  me  rnuch  about 
identification. 

I  hope  to  have  a  good  deal  to  say  about  Heterodera 
schachtii  (an  eel-worm  enemy  of  hop-roots).  Different 
kinds  of  eel-worms  seem  each  year  to  be  showing  them- 
selves more,  and  I  am  greatly  desiring  to  find  whether  the 
schachtii  may  not  have  come  to  the  roots  of  oats  here  as 
well  as  in  Holland.  The  Great  Tortoiseshell  butterfly, 
Vanessa  polychloros  (fig.  13),  which  is  not  common  in  this 
country,  made  a  destructive  appearance  on  elms  and  cherry 
leafage  in  one  locality  in  Hants.  And  not  far  from 
Lymington  was  a  destructive  attack  in  one  wheatfield  of 
the  caterpillars  of  a  small  moth,  which  ate  out  the  heart 
of  the  young  plant  and  was  utterly  ruinous.  I  cannot  find 
the  kind  of  attack  on  record  (that  is  from  a  Lepidopterous 
butterfly  or  moth,  larva),  and  we  are  all  perplexed  as  to 
species.  There  seems  little  doubt  that  it  is  a  Miana,  and  it 
appears  to  me  most  like  expolita,  but  none  of  us  contrived 
to  rear  it. 

March  23,  1895. 

I  have  been  long  in  your  debt  for  a  letter,  but  sometimes 
it  is  very  difficult  to  keep  all  work  in  hand,  and  I  am  sure 
you  will  forgive  me.  I  had  been  endeavouring  before  your 
letter  on  Warble  came  to  hand,  and  have  since  also  been 
trying  in  some  of  what  appeared  the  most  likely  quarters  to 
gain  information  whether  the  form  of  attack  which  you 
mention  in  the  U.S.A.  was  observable  here,  but  as  yet  I 
have  not  been  able  to  find  that  such  is  the  case. 

Many  thanks  to  you  for  your  presentation  copy  of  your 
most  interesting  paper  on  ^'  Rise  and  Progress  of  Economic 
Entomology,"  and  your  only  too  flattering  mention  of  my 
own  work  (pp.  295-97).  ^^^  ^^e  continent  of  Europe  there 
is  grand  work  going  forward,  and  the  colleagueship  I 
am  favoured  with  from  many  of  the  leading  Continental 
Government  Entomologists  is  most  kind  and  gratifying 
to  me. 


1897.]  ECONOMIC    ENTOMOLOGY  187 

September  23,  1895. 

I  think  it  is  but  a  proper  respect  to  you,  as  Entomologist 
of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  of  the  U.S.A.,  to  mention 
what  I  have  been  doing  relative  to  the  recent  appointment 
of  one  of  the  U.S.A.  staff  of  skilled  Entomologists  to  the 
post  of  British  Government  Entomologist  in  Cape  Colony. 
On  the  17th  inst.  I  heard  from  Mr.  C.  P.  Lounsbury  from 
Cape  Town,  with  a  letter  of  introduction  enclosed  from 
Dr.  Fernald,  which,  he  regretted,  from  pressure  of  time  he 
had  not  been  able  to  deliver.  So  did  I,  for  I  should  very 
much  like  to  have  made  his  personal  acquaintance,  as  well 
as  that  of  Mrs.  Lounsbury,  of  whom  Dr.  Fernald  writes  in 
such  high  terms. 

I  think  it  is  a  most  happy  thing  for  the  Cape  Colony  to 
have  secured  the  services  of  a  good,  trained  Entomologist, 
but  that  he  should  bring  with  him  in  the  person  of  his  wife 
a  lady  so  highly  qualified  to  be  a  companion  (an  '^  alter 
ego  ")  in  his  work  was  a  good  fortune  past  hope.  I  wrote 
at  once  to  Mr.  Lounsbury  expressing  the  pleasure  it  would 
be  to  me  to  co-operate  so  far  as  lay  in  my  power.  And  I 
have  since  written  to  the  same  effect  to  the  Agent  General 
for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  especially  drawing  his  attention 
to  the  fact  (though  of  couise  I  did  not  word  it  in  this  way) 
that  really  instead  of  one  Entomologist  they  had  thus  secured 
the  services  also  of  an  excellently  trained  assistant !  Yester- 
day morning  I  received  a  reply,  expressing  his  best  thanks, 
and  mentioning  that  he  was  then  communicating  the  contents 
of  my  letter  to  the  Hon.  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  at 
Cape  Colony,  who  he  felt  sure  "  will  be  extremely  glad  to 
hear  the  high  opinion  you  entertain  of  the  newly  appointed 
Entomologist,  and  he  will  also  be  grateful  for  your  friendly 
offer  of  co-operation  in  the  work  of  that  office."  I  hope  all 
this  will  meet  with  your  approval.  I  am  deeply  indebted  to 
the  aid  and  encouragement  I  have  received  for  years  from 
the  wonderful  staff  of  workers  of  the  U.S.A.  and  from  its  head 
— first  Professor  Riley,  and  now  yourself — and  if  I  can  be 
of  any  service  to  a  member  of  it  by  what  I  can  do  from  here 
it  would  be  a  very  great  pleasure  to  me. 

September  i,  1897. 

I  never  before  have  ventured  to  submit  one  of  my  leaflets 
to  you.  I  felt  as  if  I  should  be  taking  a  liberty.  To-day, 
however,  I  have  a  request  from  the  Boston  Public  Library 
for  one  of  the  leaflets  on  the  House  Sparrow,  and  I  have 
therefore  ventured  to  ask  your  acceptance  of  a  few  copies 
sent  accompanying  by  book  post.     You  will  see  that  I  have 


i88  LETTERS  TO   DR.    HOWARD     [Chap,  xviii. 

extracted  largely  from  the  excellent  work  of  your  own 
Board  of  Agriculture,  but  in  a  condensed  work  of  this  kind 
it  is  impossible  to  show  the  value  and  importance  of  the 
observations  as  I  should  greatly  desire.  At  least  I  have 
acknowledged  my  obligation  gratefully.  I  am  sure  I  need 
not  say  that  I  should  think  it  a  pleasure  and  an  honour  if 
you  cared  to  have  some  copies  of  the  sparrow  leaflet  for 
distribution.  The  farmers  here  are  delighted  to  have 
something  reliable,  and  their  reports  confirm  the  severe 
losses  which  P.  domesticiis  causes.  But  there  is  virulent 
opposition  from  a  few  people  who  rail  at  me  in  a  most 
unpleasant  manner. 

Lately  I  had  the  great  pleasure  of  a  little  visit  from  our 


3.       I I  ^-C.K. 

I  and  2,  Moth,  magnified  and  natural  size  ;  3,  caterpillar,  magnified, 
and  line  showing  natural  length  ;  4,  pierced  grain,  natural  size  and 
magnified  ;  5,  grain  with  frass,  magnified  ;  6,  chrysalis  in  grain,  and 
removed,  magnified,  and  line  showing  natural  length. 

FIG.  42. — ANGOUMOIS    MOTH,   FLY  WEEVIL   (U.S.A),   SITOTROGA   {GELECHIA) 
CEREALELLA,    OLIV. 


good  friend  Dr.  Fletcher,  and  we  spent  half  an  hour  or  so 
in  cutting  up  some  Plum-wood,  infested  by  what  I  took  to 
be  the  Xyleboms  saxeseni  (Shot-borer  beetle)  (fig.  46),  given 
as  a  maker  of  flat  cells,  or  burrows,  by  Eichhoff ;  but  very 
likely  you  have  heard  about  this  from  him  already. 

I  have  had  some  nice  observations  in  the  earlier  part 
of  the  year  of  the  workings  of  the  Angoumois  moth, 
Sitotroga  (Gelechia)  cerealella,  which  was  imported  in  such 
quantity  from  North  Africa  in  one  or  more  cargoes  of 
barley  as  to  give  some  alarm. 


5.] 


FLY  WEEVIL  AND   EARWIG 


189 


The  wings,  such  as  they  are,  of  the  female  Lipoptena 
cervi  (fig.  24),  have  given  me  some  good  figures.  There  is 
demonstrably  at  times  a  mere  abortive  wing,  but  whether 
sometimes  there  has  not  been  a  developed  wing  which 
has  been  torn  across  so  that  only  about  an  eighth  of 
the  wing  remains,  seems  to  me  open  to  doubt.  Also  the 
Lesser  earwig.  Labia  minor,  has  been  locally  a  little 
troublesome.  Altogether  there  have  been  a  good  many 
rather  nice  observations  sent  in,  which  I  hope  may 
presently  be  of  some  interest  to  you.  Pray  accept  my 
sincere  thanks  for  the  enormous  benefit  I  receive  from  the 


1  ^  E.C.K. 

I,  Male  ;  2,  female  with  wings  expanded,  much  magnified  ;  line 
showing  natural  length  of  body  and  forceps. 

FIG.  43.— LESSER   EARWIG,   FORFICULA   MINOR,   LINN.,   LABIA   MINOR,    LEACH. 


valuable  publications  so  kindly  sent  me,  and  believe  me  with 
most  hearty  good  wishes,  &c. 

April  7,  1898. 
Your  letter  of  approval  was  a  very  great  pleasure  to  me, 
and  I  greatly  value  your  words  of  encouragement.  Before 
this  letter  reaches  you,  you  will  perhaps  have  received  a  visit 
from  Dr.  Ritzema  Bos,  who  gave  me  the  pleasure  of  a  visit 
on  his  way  to  the  U.S.A.  to  investigate  the  amount  of  danger 
to  be  feared  in  Holland  from  this  A.  peniiciosiis  (San  Jose 
scale).  From  what  I  gather  from  the  different  publications 
with  which  I  am  most  liberally  supplied  from  your  own  head- 
quarters and  the  experimental  stations,  I  hope  that  we  need 
not   fear  this  veritable   pest  making  a  settlement   here.     I 


190  LETTERS  TO   DR.    HOWARD     [Chap,  xviii. 

have  an  impression  that  a  part  of  the  commotion  here  is 
from  a  desire  to  exclude  foreign  fruit  imports.  I  am 
working  now  on  what  I  hope  may  make  a  '^  Handbook  of 
Insect  Attacks,  injurious  to  Orchard  and  Bush  fruits,  with 
means  of  Prevention  and  Remedy."  Fruit  growing  is 
extending  very  much  with  us,  and  so  many  Httle-known 
attacks  have  been  reported  to  me  in  the  last  few  years,  that 
I  thought  a  volume  including  these,  with  our  old  standing 
attacks  brought  up  to  date  and  very  fully  illustrated,  would 
meet  a  need  here.  Also  I  was  somewhat  afraid  that  if  I  did 
not  do  it  myself  some  one  or  other  might  be  ^'  good  enough  " 
to  save  me  the  trouble. 

Our  chief  crop  trouble  during  the  spring  and  winter  has 
been  the  presence  of  Tylenchus  devastatrix  (eel-worm),  in 
clover.  This  still  continues,  but  I  hope  that  with  good 
growing  weather  and  sulphate  of  potash  (as  a  manure  dress- 
ing to  encourage  growth)  we  may  fight  it  down. 

March  24,  1899. 

I  am  afraid  that  you  will  have  been  thinking  me  very 
negligent  in  not  replying  sooner  to  your  kind  letter,  but  I 
felt  sure  you  would  understand  that  if  I  could  have  sent 
any  information  in  reply  to  your  inquiry  about  the 
''  Cigarette  beetle "  I  should  have  hastened  to  submit  it. 

My  Annual  Report  is  late  this  year,  for  work  on  my  Hand- 
book, &c.,  &c.,  threw  me  late. 

I  have  been  following  the  urgent  advice  of  our  good  and 
much  regretted  friend,  Dr.  Lintner,  by  having  a  *'  General 
Index"  prepared  to  the  series  of  twenty-two  Annual  Reports 
(chap.  IX.).  It  is  not  a  magnificently  exhaustive  compilation 
giving  everything  that  can  be  desired,  like  that  to  your 
invaluable  **  Insect  Life,"  but  I  think  that  both  entomologi- 
cally  and  practically  it  will  be  of  service.  When  printed,  I 
purpose  to  forward  copies  for  your  own  acceptance,  likewise 
to  Professor  Webster,  to  the  State  Entomologist,  Albany, 
and  a  few  other  positions  where  I  think  they  very  likely 
have  a  set  of  my  twenty-two  annual  issues,  and  therefore 
might  care  to  have  the  Index.  But  if  I  were  not  intruding 
too  much  on  your  kind  good  nature,  would  you  allow  me  to 
send  a  few,  say  a  packet  of  ten  or  twenty,  to  yourself,  which 
perhaps  you  would  so  greatly  oblige  me  as  to  present  to 
mutual  friends  whom  you  might  see.  I  should  think  this  a 
kind  favour,  for  I  might  go  rather  astray  in  my  sendings. 

With  my  next  number  (all  being  well)  I  propose  to  com- 
mence a  ''  Second  Series  " — altering  my  plan  a  little,  so  as  to 
have  a  special  section  in  which   I   could  place   any  good 


i899.] 


GENERAL   INDEX   TO    REPORTS 


191 


short  notes  of  information  sent  me,  thus  utiHsing  what  may 
come  to  hand,  but  without  being  encumbered  by  perpetual 
repetition,  year  after  year,  of  Hfe  history  and  figures,  of  well 
known,  or  what  should  be  well  known,  attacks. 

J^une  26,  1899. 
It  is  too  good  of  you  to  give  me  the  two  copies  of  this 
valuable  pamphlet,  ''  Some  Insects  Injurious  to  Stored 
Grain,"  and  I  thank  you  very  much.  But  I  did  not  beg 
for  more  of  your  publications,  and  tried  to  get  them  via 
Messrs.  Wesley,  because  you  are  so  good  to  me,  in  con- 
stantly presenting  information  quite  invaluable  to  me,  that, 
as  it  is,  I  do  not  know  how  to  reciprocate  the  kindness.  We 
have  nothing  like  your  publications  to  fall  back  on  here, 


e.cK. 


I,  Snail-slug,  in  motion  ;  2,  contracted  ;  3,  head,  with  tentacles, 
magnified  ;  4,  shell,  upper  and  under  side,  slightly  magnified  ;  5,  shell, 
much  magnified  ;  6,  egg  (4  and  6  from  Plate  v.  of  Jeffrey's  British 
ConcJwlogy,  vol.  i.  ;  the  other  figures  from  specimens  taken  at  St. 
Albans). 

FIG.   44. — SNAIL-SLUG,    TESTACELLA   HALIOTIDEA,   URAPARNAUD. 


and  when  a  very  heavy  case  is  brought  to  me  I  naturally 
benefit  by  your  books. 

I  have  lately  been  called  in  about  a  cargo  of  flour  of 
46,200  seven-stone  bags,  every  bag  (so  far  as  examined) 
infested  by  Calandra  (=  Sitophilus)  granaria  (Granary 
weevil,  fig.  68),  and  the  Mediterranean  Flour  or  Mill  moth 
(fig.  41),  and  it  was  for  the  importers  that  I  was  trying  to 
procure  a  copy,  the  other  for  my  own  lending.  I  am  truly 
obliged  to  you. 

My  Index  is  not  ready  yet.     I  thought  I  could  improve  it, 


192 


LETTERS  TO   DR.    HOWARD     [Chap,  xviii. 


and  strained  my  eyes  so  badly  that  I  caused  delay  without 
much  good. 

Now  I  am  trying  to  work  up  Piophila  casei  (Cheese  and 
Bacon  fly,  fig.  12)  as  a  cheese  pest.  How  curious  it  is  that 
it  should  not  trouble  cured  meats  with  us,  as  with  you — nor 
cheese  with  you  as  with  us. 

The  Shell-slug,  Testacella  haliotidea  (fig.  44),  seems  to  me  to 
deserve  a  little  notice,  as  (by  its  carnivorous  habit)  ridding 
us  of  various  under-  and  above-ground  troubles  (slugs  espe- 
cially), and  I  have  been  gathering  a  few  notes  about  the 
creature  for  some  years.     Another  (I  believe)  unusual  pre- 


I,  Worm  extended  ;  2,  contracted  ;  3,  4,  and  5,  different  forms  taken 
by  the  head — all  life  size  (after  figures  by  Prof,  F.  Jeffrey  Bell) ;  6,  bifid 
form  of  head,  rather  larger  than  life. 

FIG.  45,— FLATWORM,   LAND   PLANARIAN,   BIPALIUM  KEWENSE. 


sence  lately  sent  me  was  a  specimen  of  the  Ground 
Planarian,  Bipalium  kewense,  found  eating  plants  ''  like  a 
slug."  I  did  not  know  the  worm  (so  to  call  it)  at  all, 
but  the  name  was  given  at  S.  Kensington.  When  it 
arrived  it  looked  only  like  a  very  narrow  slimy  strip  about 
three  inches  long — but  I  thought  from  its  reported  habitat 
possibly  some  slightly  warm  water  would  revive  it,  and 
immediately  it  roused  up  and  swelled  to  a  narrow  cylindri- 


1900.]       SNAIL-SLUG   AND    LAND    PLANARIAN  193 

cal  shape,  and  leaving  the  moss  on  which  it  lay  made  such 
fair  speed  (by  adhesion  of  the  lower  surface)  up  the  side  of 
the  bowl,  bearing  an  unpleasant  looking  bilobed  head  before 
it,  that  I  restored  it  to  its  box  as  soon  as  might  be. 

January  24,  i9(X). 

I  thank  you  most  sincerely  for  this  great  trouble  which 
you  have  been  good  enough  to  take  for  me.  I  feel  very 
much  gratified  that  you  should  place  my  Index  in  such  dis- 
tinguished hands,  and  I  thank  you  very  much  also  for  your 
kind  letter.  Please  allow  me  to  add  that  if  you  should  at 
any  time  care  to  accept  copies  of  any  works  of  mine  which 
are  in  print,  for  yourself  or  friends,  it  would  be  a  real 
pleasure  to  me  to  be  allowed  to  send  them. 

I  had  a  very  pleasant  letter  from  Mr.  Lounsbury  a  few 
days  ago.  He  is  working  with  great  interest  on  the  ''tick" 
[which  conveys  the  disease  known  as  red-water  or  Texas 
fever  to  cattle.] 

March  21,  1900. 

I  do  not  know  whether,  according  to  etiquette,  I  am  quite 
right  in  mentioning  the  following  matter,  but  I  think  that  to 
a  kind  friend  like  yourself  I  may  mention  the  great  gratifi- 
cation it  was  to  me  lately  to  hear  from  the  University  of 
Edinburgh  that  they  were  about  to  confer  on  me  the 
Honorary  LL.D.  I  feel  this  to  be  a  great  honour.  It  is 
not  only  the  compliment  to  myself  that  gratifies  me,  but  I 
greatly  hope  that  one  of  our  chief  British  Universities 
giving  its  approval  to  Economic  Entomology  will  be  a 
great  strengthening  to  work  in  this  country,  which  it  has 
greatly  needed. 

April  30,  1900. 

I  was  very  much  gratified  by  your  kind  congratulations 
(p.  295)  on  the  great  honour  which  the  University  of  Edin- 
burgh has  conferred  on  me.  They  were  all  very  kind  when 
I  went  to  receive  the  degree.  I  had  the  great  pleasure  one 
day  of  meeting  His  Excellency  your  Ambassador  at  the 
Vice-Chancellor's  [Sir  William  Muir],  and  was  charmed 
with  the  kind  interest  with  which  he  conversed  on  Agri- 
cultural Entomology,  and  indeed  all  subjects  which  were 
brought  forward.  At  the  ceremony  I  was  next  to  him,  and 
now  and  then  he  kindly  interchanged  a  few  pleasant  words. 
As  I  took  my  seat  by  him  after  receiving  the  degree  he 
gently  whispered,  *'  I  congratulate  you  ;  you  did  it  splen- 
didly," and  I  thought  it  very  interesting  that  my  first 
congratulation    should    be    so    kindly  given    me    by   the 

^4 


194  LETTERS  TO   DR.    HOWARD     [Chap,  xviii. 

Ambassador  of  the  greatly  advanced  country  to  which   I 
am  so  indebted  for  help  in  my  work. 

September  29,  1900. 

It  was  a  great  pleasure  to  me  (though  it  was  only  such 
a  little  visit)  to  make  personal  acquaintance  with  Dr.  John 
Smith  of  New  Jersey.  Also  Dr.  W.  Saunders  (who  came 
for  the  Paris  Exhibition)  and  Dr.  Mills  kindly  came  to  see 
me.     These  visits  are  very  refreshing. 

Meanwhile  I  have  been  learning  a  great  deal  from  your 
"  Notes  on  the  Mosquitoes  of  the  United  States."  It  is  a 
great  gratification  to  me  to  possess  this  valuable  work, 
and  my  medical  adviser,  Dr.  Lipscomb,  is  only  waiting 
until  I  can  spare  it,  to  borrow  it  for  his  own  perusal.  With 
kind  regards  and  good  wishes  and  grateful  thanks  for  all 
your  kind  help  and  encouragement,  pray  believe  me. 
Yours  very  sincerely, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 


CHAPTER   XIX 

LETTERS   TO   DR.   J.   FLETCHER 

General  references  to  insect  infestation— Progress  of  Economic  Entomology 
— Success  in  using  Paris-green  in  Britain — End  of  work  done  for  the 
Board  of  Agriculture  and  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England. 

The  series  of  selected  letters  to  Dr.  Fletcher  in  this  and 
the  succeeding  chapter  is  the  most  comprehensive  of  the 
remnants  of  Miss  Ormerod's  correspondence  with  distant 
scientific  authorities.  Although  only  a  portion  of  the 
original  group  of  letters,  it  ranges  over  a  period  of  fourteen 
years,  and  touches,  sometimes  only  lightly,  a  great  many  of 
the  leading  objects  of  interest  which  had  specially  engaged 
her  attention.  Some  phases  of  character  come  out  here 
more  conspicuously  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  volume. 
The  mutual  confidence  in  business  matters  which  speedily 
established  itself  developed  in  this,  as  in  most  other 
instances,  into  intimate  personal  friendship. 

To  Dr.  J,  Fletcher^  Dominion  Entomologist,  Ottawa,  Canada, 

DuNSTER  Lodge,  Spring  Grove,  Isleworth,  England, 

February  4,  1886. 
Dear  Mr.  Fletcher, — You  ask  about  gas  lime  (as  a 
top  dressing  for  land).  There  is  certainly  need  for  caution 
in  its  use,  but  I  do  not  think  you  would  find  a  better  short 
treatise  on  it  than  the  little  paper  printed  by  the  late  Dr. 
[Augustus]  Voelcker,  of  which  I  have  had  a  copy  taken  for 
you  (now  enclosed  with  much  pleasure),  for  I  do  not  know 
where  (or  whether)  it  was  published.^  The  kind  old  man 
sent  me  a  copy  w^hen  I  wrote  to  him  during  his  last  illness, 

'  Printed  by  King,  Sell,  &  Railton,  Limited,  12,  Gough  Square,  and 
4,  Bolt  Court,  E.G. 

195 


196  LETTERS   TO   DR.   FLETCHER     [Chap.  xix. 

I  not  being  aware  how  ill  he  was  at  the  time.  He  had  a 
great  opinion  of  the  lime,  and  I  think  it  does  immense  good, 
but  still,  if  too  fresh  or  if  too  thickly  applied,  dire  are  the 
consequences.  Even  if  the  heaps  are  left  standing  a  little 
while  on  the  field,  the  chances  are  the  spots  will  be  poisoned. 
But  I  always  use  it  in  our  garden.  When  we  came  here 
about  twelve  years  ago  it  could  be  had  as  a  gift,  but 
when  I  wanted  some  a  few  weeks  ago  it  cost  about  7s.  the 
cart  load,  and  was  only  sold  to  me  as  a  favour,  there  is 
such  a  run  on  it.  One  of  the  market  gardeners  said  he 
could  not  do  without  it,  and  it  is  splendid  for  getting  rid  of 
the  diseased  growths  in  cabbage  and  turnip  known  as 
"  Club  root"  or  "  Finger  and  Toe."  But  withal  it  does  not 
do  to  trust  the  application  to  hands  without  heads.  You 
will  find  reports  (or  rather  notes  in  some  of  my  different 
Reports)  about  quantities  used. 

I  hope  you  will  be  able  to  come  over,  there  are  so  many 
points  it  would  be  so  pleasant  to  talk  over,  and  Croydon  is 
only  a  little  way  off  by  rail.  It  would  give  me  great  pleasure 
to  make  your  sister's  acquaintance. 

July  19,  1886. 

Lately  I  had  good  specimens  of  a  Hippobosca,  H. 
Stnithlonis,  Janson,  which  is  doing  harm  in  South  Africa  to 
Ostriches  at  an  up-country  station.  It  appears  to  be  a 
very  curious  instance  of  the  migration  of  a  parasite,  as 
M.  Lichtenstein  (if  I  remember  right,  or  M.  Offer)  thinks  it 
may  have  been  caught  so  to  say  by  the  Ostriches  from  the 
Quagga.    It  is  very  interesting  as  a  quadruped  pest  on  a  bird. 

March  15,  1887. 

I  was  SO  very  much  gratified  to  receive  your  kind  letter 
this  morning,  that  I  will  reply  as  soon  as  I  possibly  can. 
Your  Entomological  Society  of  Ontario  is  the  one  of  all  others 
that  I  desire  to  belong  to.  I  shall  think  it  a  real  honour,  one 
made  still  more  welcome  by  the  kind  and  courteous  manner 
in  which  you  notify  I  am  likely  to  be  permitted  to  have  such 
a  distinction  [honorary  membership].  Your  society  seems 
to  me  a  pattern,  a  thorough  example  of  what  a  Society 
should  be,  so  truly  scientific,  and  using  its  knowledge  for 
the  general  benefit.  I  shall  be  proud  to  be  allowed  to  add 
its  title  to  my  titles — prouder  still  to  have  the  approba- 
tion and  cordial  friendship  of  its  President,  and  its  late 
President. 

You  have  encouraged  and  gratified  me  very  much  by 
what  you  kindly  say  about  my  Hessian  fly  pamphlet; 
very  few  of  our  English  Entomologists  care  for  subjects  of 


1889.]  SEVERAL   INSECT   INFESTATIONS  197 

practical  bearing,  and  it  has  grown  me  many  a  grey  hair,i  to 
endeavour  to  ''  keep  the  bridge."  The  "  flax-seeds  "  are  now 
being  found  near  Errol  in  Scotland  in  the  light  grain  or 
^*  shag/'  or  "  chog,"  as  it  is  called,  which  is  thrown  down  by 
a  separate  apparatus  from  the  machine.  Meantime  I  am 
trying  to  get  a  kind  of  cordon  established  for  watch  on  the 
straw  at  such  of  our  importing  ports  as  1  have  influence 
near.  We  give  the  working  men,  through  whose  hands  the 
straw  daily  passes,  full  instructions  what  they  are  to  look 
for,  where,  and  how,  likewise  a  small  gratuity,  and  a 
promise  of  a  handsome  bonus  to  the  first  who  finds  and 
produces  specimens  of  infested  imported  straw.  The 
working  men  can  help  enormously  if  they  are  kindly  and 
properly  dealt  with,  and  I  did  not  think  sending  an  inspector 
would  do  much  good.  Hessian  fly  puparia  would  not  have 
been  '^at  home  "  on  the  day  of  his  visit !  Could  you  tell  me 
whether  straw  is  usually  cut  above  the  point  of  attachment 
of  the  puparia  in  Canada  ?  This  would  make  an  enormous 
difference  as  to  danger  of  infection. 

Dr.  Lindeman,  Moscow,  has  given  me  a  list  of  the 
Governments  over  which  C.  destructor  has  spread  in  Russia 
since  its  first  appearance  in  1879,  and  with  his  permission 
I  am  publishing  it  in  my  tenth  Report  (p.  104).  Would 
you  care  to  have  a  packet  of  copies  sent  over  ?  Of  course  I 
shall  send  copies  immediately  on  publication  for  your  and 
Professor  Saunders's  kind  acceptance,  and  to  a  few  other  of 
my  Canadian  friends  ;  but  if  you  will  give  me  leave  I  should 
have  real  gratification  in  having  a  packet  forwarded,  and 
also  begging  acceptance  of  electros  of  any  of  my  own 
figures  which  you  thought  might  be  acceptable  to  your 
Entomological   Society. 

TORRINGTON    HoUSE,   St.   AlBANS,    ENGLAND, 

April  22,  1889. 
It  was  indeed  a  pleasure  to  me  to  see  your  hand- 
writing again,  and  very  soon  after  I  received  your  Report 
which  you  have  so  kindly  sent  me.  I  have  turned  over  the 
pages  to  see  the  general  contents,  and  first  of  all  I  am 
exceedingly  interested  in  your  ^'  Silver  top "  attack  corre- 
sponding with  our  *^ white  eared"  wheat.  They — these 
peculiar  ears — appeared  in  Southern  Russia,  Dr.  Lindeman 
tells  me,  two  years  ago,  and  he  could  not  discover  any 
insect  traces  any  more  than  I  could.  It  seems  to  me  quite 
unaccountable,  if  it  really  is  caused  by  Thrips,  that   they 

*  This  was  a  purely  metaphorical  expression  (Ed.). 


198  LETTERS  TO    DR.   FLETCHER     [Chap.  xix. 

should  not  leave  their  cast  clothing  behind  them  !  I  wonder 
what  you  will  think  of  my  idea  of  ring  vegetable  disease  ? 
Dr.  Lindeman  writes  me  that  he  means  to  examine  for 
A ngtiillulidce  (eel- worms) . 

I  am  particularly  interested  in  your  notes  of  C.  legumini- 
cola  [American  clover-seed  midge],  for  I  have  long 
suspected  we  had  the  larvae  here,  and  to-day  I  succeeded 
in  rearing  my  first  imago,  and  have  sent  it  off  to  Mr.  Meade 
with  Dr.  Lintner  and  Professor  Saunders's  description  and 
figures  to  see  if  he  will  agree  with  me.  Will  you  kindly 
thank  Professor  Saunders  from  me  for  having  the  new 
edition  of  his  excellent  book  on  fruit  pests  sent  to  me.  It 
is  a  pleasure  to  see  it  in  this  less  expensive  form,  so  many 
more  people  will  buy  it. 

September  2,  1889. 

You  must  indeed  have  had  pleasure  in  your  visit  to 
Washington,  but  what  a  spectacle  your  study  table  must  be 
on  your  return  !  Does  not  the  collection,  all  calling 
"  answer  me  first,"  quite  make  your  heart  sink  ?  I  cannot 
face  it — it  is  such  a  terrible  strain,  so  I  stop  nearly  entirely 
at  home  like  a  limpet  on  a  rock,  and  keep  my  work  as  well 
as  I  can  in  hand. 

November  11,  1889. 

Did  I  tell  you  that  the  Xyleborus  dispar,  Fab.  (Shot- 
borer),  has  made  what  I  hope  may  be  only  one  of  its 
strange  intermittent  appearances,  in  plum  stems  at  the 
great  Toddington  fruit  ground  near  Cheltenham  ?  What  a 
strangely  destructive  attack  it  is  !  I  could  not  completely 
understand  how  it  killed  the  young  trees  so  wonderfully 
quickly  until  I  dissected  some  stems,  and  found  that,  like 
your  X.  pyriy  Peck,  the  creatures  partly  ringed  the  stem  to 
begin  with.  And  what  a  quantity  in  one  stem  !  We  need 
a  descriptive  English  name,  so  I  propose  to  call  it  the 
"  Crowder,"  from  the  manner  in  which  all  the  galleries  are 
so  crowded  with  the  beetles,  that  there  seems  hardly  room 
for  another  specimen. 

December  6,  1889. 

How  very  very  curious  is  what  you  say  about  Professor 
Riley's  now  thinking  E.  kuhniella  (Mill  moth,  fig.  41}  may  be 
a  South  Carolina  insect.  I  shall  await  the  letter  you  promise 
me  with  great  interest.  I  suppose  some  records  have  been 
searched  out,  for  in  the  spring  he  wrote  me  that  he  thought 
he  could  safely  say  that  this  species  did  not  occur  in  the 
United  States.  Dr.  Lintner  also  held  the  same  view,  and 
he   is   care  itself.     I   am  so  glad  you  told  me,  for  I  had 


1889.] 


SHOT-BORER   BEETLES 


199 


written  quite  a  neat  little  paragraph  for  my  Report  on  the 
remarkable  circumstance  of  advance  of  one  insect  attack 
being  so  minutely  recorded.  How  awkward  it  would  have 
been  !  How  good  of  you  to  spare  me  a  male  specimen.  It 
is  quite  different  your  sparing  me  a  specimen  to  my  putting 
anything  I  have  in  your  hands  ;  I  really  hope  you  have  not 
robbed  your  own  valuable  collection  too  much.  I  have 
been  trying  to  compare  them  as  well  as  I  can  manage  under 
present  circumstances,  but  I  cannot  of  course  do  much 
without  the  microscope.  The  colour  of  mine  is  deeper,  but 
this  is  not  much.  It  was  alive,  but  mature,  when  I  took  it. 
I  do  believe  all  good  work  is  done  in  concert,  though  we 


E,C^ 


I,  Beetle  ?  ;   2,  larva — magnified,  with  natural  length  of  each  ;   3  and  4, 
cell,  natural  size,  showing  broad  and  flat,  and  also  narrow  view. 

FIG.  46.— SHOT-BORER  BEETLES,   XYLEBORUS  DISPAR,  FAB. 


do  not  know  how  it  may  be  fitting  together  yet.     It  is  very 
often  a  great  comfort  to  me  to  think  so. 

December  16,  1889. 
I  put  off  writing  for  a  few  days  because  I  wanted  to  tell 
you  more  about  the  Xylehorus  dispar  (Shot-borer  or  Apple- 
bark  beetle),  which  I  am  afraid  is  likely  to  be  a  very  serious 
matter  in  other  localities  than  where  it  first  appeared, 
and  it  is  doing  much  mischief  :  I  do  not  quite  like  to  raise 
the  *^  danger  flag  "  on  my  own  sole  responsibility,  so  I  have 
sent  out  some  of  the  new  specimens  to  have  my  identifica- 


200  LETTERS  TO   DR.   FLETCHER     [Chap.  xix. 

tion  confirmed,  and  then  I  mean  to  write  to  you  again  and 
send  a  few  more  males.  I  found  seven  with  hardly  more 
than  that  number  of  females  ;  also  I  found  specimens  of  the 
white  stuff  that  Schmidberger  observed  the  larvae  fed  on, 
and  I  have  asked  Professor  Bernard  Dyer  to  analyse  it 
for  me.  He  is  a  very  kind  as  well  as  skilled  helper.  I 
cannot  find  the  least  sign  of  disease  about  the  attacked  trees  : 
if  the  bark  had  been  washed  it  could  not  be  cleaner  from 
Scale  or  moulds  of  any  kind,  but  the  havoc  is  dismal — what 
my  correspondent  calls  ^'a  slaughter"  of  trees. 

We  have  now  got  the  subject  of  Agricultural  Entomology 
regularly  announced  as  one  of  the  subjects  (voluntary)  for 
examination  of  the  Senior  Candidates  of  our  Royal  Agricul- 
tural Society  of  England.  I  have  been  trying  to  get  this 
arranged  for  some  time,  and  I  hope  it  will  do  good. 

I  have  drawn  up  the  questions  as  practically,  i.e.,  on  as 
practical  points  as  I  could. 

December  i6,  1889. 

Your  letter  was  hardly  started  this  morning  when  I 
received  the  confirmation  from  Mr.  Oliver  E.  Janson 
of  my  identification  of  the  fresh  supply  of  Shot-borers 
from  plum  wood  being  quite  correct,  beyond  doubt 
X.  dispar.  So  I  have  great  pleasure  in  enclosing  two 
males  and  two  females  in  a  thin  quill.  They  are 
packed  in  fine  bark  clippings,  which  they  have  shredded 
out  themselves,  so  I  hope  they  will  travel  safely.  These 
are  from  plum  stems,  and  in  some  cases  they  attack  the 
branches.  I  have  just  now  written  a  letter  to  the  Worcester 
Herald,  warning  fruit  growers  to  be  on  the  alert,  giving 
as  much  practical  advice  as  I  could  compress  into  reason- 
able space,  and  especially  recommending  burning  infested 
trees. 

December  24,  1889. 

I  think  that  Agricultural  Entomology  is  moving  forward, 
but  we  are  much  hampered  at  present  by  various  difficulties, 
which  I  fancy  you  would  dispose  of  very  rapidly  on  your 
side  of  the  Atlantic.  I  suppose  that  in  a  sort  of  confidence 
I  may  mention  that  by  private  liberality  of  a  Scottish 
advancer  of  science  a  lectureship  of  Agricultural  Ento- 
mology is  being  endowed  at  Edinburgh  University,  but 
then  comes  the  rather  comical  difficulty  :  Who  ever  is  to 
take  the  position  of  lecturer  ?  I  am  complimented  by  the 
expression  of  a  wish  from  the  authorities  who  have  the 
election  in  hand  that  I  should  take  it  ;  but  then  Lady 
Professors  are   not  admitted   in   Scotland.     We   know  of 


1890.]  PARIS-   AND   SCHEELE'S   GREEN  201 

'*  one  man "  fit  for  the  purpose,  Professor  Allen  Harker, 
of  the  Royal  Agricultural  College,  Cirencester.  He  would 
do  well,  and  as  much  desires  the  post  as  we  wish  to  put  him 
in  it,  but  then  the  Principal  of  the  Royal  Agricultural 
College  is  very  much  set  against  his  holding  the  post,  as 
well  as  his  Professorship  at  the  college.  It  is  a  great  puzzle. 
I  have  been  doing  my  very  best  to  help  the  Professor  of 
Agriculture — a  member  of  the  appointing  body — to  find  a 
suitable  man,  but  what  will  come  of  it  I  do  not  know. 
This  is  not  private  amongst  friends,  but  it  is  not  yet  before 
the  public.  Why,  with  you,  I  believe  in  a  day  you  could 
fill  the  chair.  I  think  I  could  do  all  that  is  wanted,  but 
then,  oh  !     Shades  of  John  Knox  1 

I  am  hoping  each  day  to  receive  the  copy  of  '^  Insect 
Life  "  Professor  Riley  kindly  sends  me,  and  to  see  what  the 
Association  of  Official  Entomology  did  at  Washington. 

[Cablegram,'] 

December  28,  1889. 
Is  not  "  Paris-green  "  the  same  as  *'  Scheele's  green,"  that 
is,  arsenite  of  Copper,  not  arseniate  ?     With  us  arseniate  of 
copper  is  a  bluish  powder  ;  please  write.  ^ 

January  20,  1890. 

I  am  exceedingly  obliged  to  you  for  so  kindly  and 
promptly  replying  to  my  enquiry  about  the  arseniate.  I 
thank  you  most  heartily,  and  Professor  Saunders  also,  for 
so  very  kindly  taking  the  trouble  to  make  me  sure  how  the 
matter  stood. 

I  have  been  taking  a  great  deal  of  pains  to  make  my 
paper  on  the  Paris-green  as  plain  and  sound  as  I  can,  but 
whether  I  can  induce  the  growers  to  use  it  is  yet  to  be 
seen.  If  any  of  your  orchard  operatives  accustomed  to 
apphcation  of  it  should  chance  to  be  in  England,  I  believe 
that  the  best  way  to  start  affairs  would  be  for  his  services  to 
be  engaged  at  Toddington,  and  from  a  proper  method  of 
spraying  (and,  w^ithout  any  doubt,  its  good  effect),  we  should 
then,  I  quite  believe,  make  progress.  If  you  should  know 
of  any  orchard  workers  being  likely  to  come  over,  I  should 
be  very  glad  if  you  would  give  me  a  line,  and  then  if  none 
of  my  orchard  applicants  were  disposed  to  engage  him,  I 
would  myself  ask  for  a  lesson  and  a  lecture,  and  he  "  should 
not  lack  his  fee,"  as  the  old  ballads  say.  Unless  something 
is  done  to  rouse  the  good  folks  they  will  go  on  smearing 

*  An  arseniate  is  a  salt  of  arsenic  acid,  while  an  arsenite  is  a  salt  of 
arsenious  acid. 


202  LETTERS  TO   DR.   FLETCHER     [Chap.  xix. 

and    smearing   until   their   trees   are    one  mass  of   grease, 
and  swarming,  nevertheless,  with  caterpillars  of  all  kinds. 

Now,  I  want  to  mention  to  you  and  to  Professor  Saunders 
that  I  have  felt  obliged  to  tell  Mr.  Whitehead,  as  gently  and 
courteously  as  I  could,  that  I  must  decline  to  continue  the 
assistance  which  I  have  given  since  1885  to  the  Entomo- 
logical part  of  his  work  as  Agriculture  Adviser  to  the  Board 
of  Agriculture.  I  have  recommended  professional  helpers 
who  can  aid  him  in  the  technical  identifications,  and  if  he 
needs  more  aid  on  general  matters  I  have  suggested  that  he 
should  apply  to  Professor  Harker,  who  has  a  great  deal  of 
strictly  technical  entomological  knowledge,  and  of  late  years 
has  given  much  attention  to  the  agricultural  application 
of  it. 

Even  if  the  post  of  "  Entomologist "  should  be  offered 
to  me,  I  should  not  think  myself  justified  in  accepting,  for 
my  great  wish  in  my  work  is  to  be  of  immediate  use,  and  if 
I  had  to  wait  for  permission  from  boards  and  committees, 
&c.,  &c.,  before  I  came  down  on  pests  that  want  attention 
by  return  of  post,  I  should  not  feel  in  the  right  place. 
Please  forgive  my  telling  you  this  story  about  myself,  but 
though  of  course  it  is  only  meant  for  private  friends,  I 
thought  I  ought  to  let  you  know.  My  own  work  has 
steadily  increased  to  such  an  extent  that,  with  this  sort  of 
underground  (unacknowledged)  Government  work  in 
addition,  I  did  not  feel  able  to  do  full  justice  to  it,  and 
especially  I  wanted  more  time  for  experiment  and  corres- 
pondence. 

February  13,  1890. 

Many  thanks  for  your  kind  congratulations  on  my  better 
health.  I  am  really  better  now.  Work  was  bearing  me 
down  so  very  seriously  I  was  obliged  to  make  some  degree 
of  alteration.  I  regretted  very  much  indeed  not  continuing 
any  help  I  could  give  to  Mr.  Whitehead  about  his  entomo- 
logical Government  work,  but  it  was  too  severe  a  task,  and 
it  prevented  my  giving  proper  attention  to  my  own,  and 
likewise  when  the  post  of  Agricultural  Adviser  was  avowedly 
a  paid  one,  I  felt,  and  my  friends  felt,  that  if  aid  were  needed 
it  ought  to  be  on  a  business  footing  and  obtained  from 
professional  helpers. 

March  24,  1890. 

I  thank  you  very  heartily  for  the  little  box  of  X.  dispar 
which  you  have  kindly  spared,  for  your  own  paper  on  the 
^^  Mediterranean  Flour  Moth "  preceding  the  copy  in  the 
"Canadian  Entomologist,"  and  for  all  the  information  in 


1890.]  ENTOMOLOGICAL  WORK  203 

your  always  truly  acceptable  letters.  The  little  beetles 
came  quite  safely.  I  divided  them  duly,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  both  Mr.  Janson  and  Canon  Fowler  will  be  very 
much  pleased  to  possess  them. 

Our  Worcestershire  and  Toddington  people  are  really 
roused  to  see  about  these  weary  caterpillars.  We  have 
formed  a  "  committee  of  experiment "  with  two  or  three 
very  sensible  and  able  men  at  the  head,  and  I  officiate  as 
their  entomologist,  and  benefit  the  stationer,  at  least !  You 
should  see  the  sheets  of  paper  covered  with  sage  advice  ! 

At  present  I  am  trying  to  keep  well  before  them  that  the 
very  centre  of  all  advance  is  to  arrange  our  ^'  washes  "  and 
our  means  of  applying  them,  so  that  we  may  be  able  to 
destroy  the  hordes  about  May  or  June,  when  they  are  really 
and  evidently  doing  harm.  Your  information  is  invaluable, 
not  only  in  itself  but  because  whatever  may  be  advanced  I 
can  say  Mr.  Fletcher  advised  it,  or  more  often,  reported  its 
success  in  Canada,  and  I  feel  secure.  I  really  hope  we 
shall  make  progress ;  the  leading  people  are  quite  weary  of 
this  everlasting  greasing,  but  I  certainly  do  feel  that  our 
only  excuse  for  asking  you  so  many  questions  about  it,  is 
your  own  great  knowledge  of  the  subject,  and  great  good 
nature  ;  and,  indeed,  I  am  most  truly  grateful. 

Professor  William  Fream,  of  Downton  College  of  Agri- 
culture, has  just  been  appointed,  by  unanimous  vote  of 
Council  of  our  Royal  Agricultural  Society,  to  be  Associate 
Editor  of  their  journal.  This  is  such  an  excellent  appoint- 
ment it  delights  me.  Professor  Fream  is  an  old  friend  of 
mine,  so  that  besides  the  great  benefit  to  the  society  of 
having  such  an  able  man  in  the  post,  I  gain  a  skilled  and 
heartily  helpful  colleague. 

I  hope  that  you  will  come  over  to  England  this  summer, 
it  would  be  such  a  benefit  to  me  and  such  a  pleasure  both 
to  my  sister  and  myself.  We  hope  you  will  stay  here  as 
long  as  you  can  make  it  convenient.  This  is  a  very  good 
centre,  and  Rothamsted  [the  great  English  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station]  is  only  about  four  and  a  half  miles  off, 
and  I  am  quite  sure  the  staff  would  be  delighted  to  show 
you  everything. 

July  7,  1890. 

I  believe  that  after  our  hard  fight  we  have  won  the  victory 
and  Paris-green  is  now  acknowledged,  so  far  as  the  area  of 
the  work  of  our  Committee  has  spread,  as  an  indispensable 
insecticide  in  orchard-growing  on  a  large  scale.  The 
caterpillars  have  been  killed  and  the  leafage  not  injured,  and 


204  LETTERS  TO   DR.   FLETCHER     [Chap.  xix. 

the  Superintendents  at  Toddington  are,  up  to  date,  quite 
satisfied  and  grateful.  We  are  greatly  indebted  to  you  for 
your  kind  and  able  help,  and  what  it  has  been  to  me  I 
cannot  say.  It  would  fill  a  volume  to  record  the  progress 
of  our  work.  It  at  first  appeared  as  if  the  spirit  of  folly  had 
got  into  the  heads  of  the  opposition ;  everything  imaginable 
turned  up  one  after  another,  and,  as  Entomologist  to  the 
Committee,  I  have  hardly  had  a  day's  peace  till  now 
for  weeks  or  months.  We  had  one  definite  combination 
against  us,  and  when  all  seemed  quiet  the  beekeepers  raised 
a  commotion.  This  had  to  be  answered  publicly,  but  it 
seemed  self-evident  that  if  we  did  not  spray  when  the  trees 
were  in  flower  we  would  not  hurt  the  bees.  One  of  our 
members  made  a  commotion  about  his  own  health,  and  I 
had  to  point  out  to  him  that  if  he  were  not  used  to  standing 
out  in  a  March  wind  slopping  with  cold  water  (only  I  put 
it  more  politely)  he  was  likely  to  feel  uncomfortable. 

If  we  meet,  as  I  hope  we  may  some  day,  I  am  sure  you 
would  be  entertained  with  *'The  rise  and  progress  of  Paris- 
green."  But  really  all  the  work  and  terrible  anxiety  have 
tried  me  very  much,  and  I  am  going  to  have  a  little  holiday 
with  my  sister  for  a  couple  of  days  at  Oxford  as  a 
refreshment. 

October  6,  1890. 

You  encourage  me  very  much  indeed  by  all  you  so  kindly 
say,  and  I  value  your  approval  of  my  new  book  greatly,  but 
I  always  feel,  and  I  try  to  acknowledge,  that  the  real  use- 
fulness of  my  work  is  derived  from  the  kind  co-operation 
I  am  allowed  the  benefit  of.  Just  look  at  the  Paris-green 
matter.  I  quite  sheltered  myself  behind  your  name  as  an 
active  referee.  The  good  folks  were  hard  of  belief  anyhow, 
but  I  really  doubt  if  I  could  have  driven  the  nail  home 
without  having  you  to  fall  back  on.  But  for  the  pain  that  it 
could  not  fail  to  give,  the  history  of  our  Evesham  Committee's 
work,  and  what  we  had  to  meet,  would  be  a  most  interesting 
chapter,  and  at  last  we  had  perfect  success  ! 

I  think  I  told  you  of  the  wonderfully  diseased  strawberry 
plants,  looking  more  like  pieces  of  cauliflowers  placed  on 
the  ground  than  their  own  graceful  forms.  Dr.  Ritzema 
Bos  has  found  that  this  is  from  the  presence  of  a  Tylen- 
chus  (eel-worm)  (figs.  47  and  49),  hitherto  undescribed, 
and  is  going  to  bring  out  a  preliminary  notice  in  November, 
and  as  some  portion  of  the  observations  (not  the  scientific 
parts)  were  mine,  he  will  kindly  let  me  use  what  I  need  for 
my  Report.     He  is  a  very  kind  colleague. 


1890.]  SPRAYING  WITH    PARIS-GREEN  205 

November  18,  1890. 

My  sister  is  delighted  to  send  you  two  copies  of  her 
Hessian  fly  maggot  diagram,  which  she  hopes  you  will 
kindly  accept.  This,  as  she  says,  is  "her  first  public 
appearance,"  so  she  is  rather  anxious  1  But  I  have  been 
doing  my  best  to  ensure  her  picture  a  good  reception,  and  I 
revised  it  very  carefully  before  it  went  out.  I  think  you 
will  like  it.  It  should  accompany  this  letter,  but  it  comes 
so  very  near  parcel  post  limitations  of  size  that  if  it 
does  not  arrive  please  expect  it  shortly  in  a  different 
travelling  dress,  by  book  post. 

December  22,  1890. 

For  your  collection  you  will,  I  think,  like  a  regular  letter 
of  our  good  old  Professor  Westwood,  but  this  is  not  in  the 
least  characteristic.  He  usually  takes  a  postcard,  and  into 
it,  by  small  writing,  and  adding  in  little  bits  where  there  is 
room,  he  gets  in  a  surprising  quantity  of  instructive  matter. 
Mr.  Meade's  letter  you  would  perhaps  care  for,  as  he  is  one 
of  our  leading  Dipterists — he  is  very  kind  to  me  in  identify- 
ing whenever  I  ask  him  ;  and  the  letter  from  Mr.  Hormuzd 
Rassam  is  a  contribution  from  my  sister.  He  was,  I 
suppose,  our  greatest  British  explorer  in  Assyria  (after 
Sir  Henry  Layard)  and  was  for  a  long  time  one  of  the 
prisoners  of  King  Theodore  in  Abyssinia  (to  liberate  whom 
this  country  went  to  war).  I  am  not  sure  whether  you  saw 
him  when  you  were  at  Spring  Grove,  but  he  was  a  near 
neighbour,  and  when  he  went  on  his  Assyrian  trips  used  to 
leave  his  very  charming  wife,  and  untoward  little  flock 
of  Chaldee  children,  in  what  he  was  pleased  to  call  "  our 
care." 

Many  thanks  to  you  for  such  gratifying  notices  of  my 
Manual.  They  are  only  too  kind,  but  it  is  very  encouraging 
to  have  such  approval,  and  very  refreshing  too,  for  sometimes 
I  am  nearly  eaten  up  by  anxiety. 

I  think  the  beneficial  effect  of  Paris-green  is  quite  estab- 
lished, and  I  hope  that  the  use  of  it  may  spread  widely  next 
season  ;  I  fully  believe  that  in  it  or  in  London-purple,  lies  the 
sole  hope  of  keeping  in  check  the  crowds  of  miscellaneous 
kinds  of  moth  caterpillars  which  appear  with  the  leafage. 
In  my  fourteenth  Report  (that  is,  in  the  paper  on  orchard 
caterpillars  which  I  am  now  preparing  for  it)  I  have  tried  to 
dwell  with  even  tedious  repetition  on  the  points  of  the 
small  quantity  of  the  Paris-green  to  be  used,  and  also  the 
importance  of  the  fluid  being  distributed  as  a  mist  or  fine 
spray  so   as  to  coat  the  leaves,  but  on  no  account   to  be 


UErnSBS  TO  DK.  FUETOEDSM    ICBir.  SEC 


[Dt 


Ml 


Ite- 


1 

■asoirs 


1891.J  SPRAYING   WITH    PARIS-GREEN  207 

at  intervals  in  a  way  which  I  suppose  you  are  quite  free 
from  in  Canada.     Surely  it  should  be  recorded  of  me, 

''  SHE   INTRODUCED   PARIS-GREEN    INTO    ENGLAND  "  ! 

You  should  see  the  mass  of  correspondence  since  this  time  last 
year,  from  the  first  feeble  efforts,  through  opposition  and  all 
sorts  of  things,  up  to  success.  The  work  is  well  begun,  and 
though  I  may  in  fun  mention  myself,  our  Experimental 
Committee  has  worked  wisely  and  grandly.  Now  they  are 
going  to  publish  the  reports  of  all  the  members  who  have 
sent  them  in.  That  by  Mr.  Wise  ^  is  very  good  indeed,  and 
I  am  to  write  a  preface  for  them,  so  1  can  show  the 
teachings,  where  they  agree,  and  why  they  differ. 

We  have  had  a  long  spell  of  cold  weather,  bringing  great 
suffering  to  the  poor,  and  to  my  sister  and  myself  the  loss 
of  a  brother,  who  was  '^  coldstruck  "  and  carried  off  almost 
instantaneously  by  angina  pectoris.  I  had  a  temporary  share 
in  troubles  from  a  severe  fall,  my  feet  going  from  under  me 
down  a  slope  on  hidden  ice,  and  sending  me  down  on  the 
back  of  my  head  ;  but  I  think  I  am  right  again  now. 

There  is  a  great  want  over  here  of  some  kind  of  lesson 
book  for  village  schools  telling  something  that  would 
interest  the  boys — possibly,  too,  the  girls.  I  do  not  know 
whether  I  could  manage  it,  but  I  am  thinking  of  trying  to 
take  some  thirty  or  so  of  the  very  commonest  attacks — includ- 
ing a  very  few  to  stock,  which  boys  always  care  about — and 
seeing  what  I  can  do.  I  have  a  hope  that  through  the  boys 
we  might  get  at  the  agricultural  labourers  and  cowmen. 

I  like  your  address  very  much  at  the  Economic  Entomo- 
logists' meeting  in  reply  to  Professor  Riley's  grand  and 
comprehensive  address ;  but  as  yet  I  have  not  been  able 
quite  to  make  out  the  scope  of  the  Society's  arrangements  for 
extra-American  members.  It  must  be  a  great  pleasure  to 
all  members  who  can  meet,  to  talk  over  serviceable  points, 
and  a  great  benefit  conferred  on  the  country,  but  I  am 
puzzled  about  the  external  bearings.  It  does  not  seem  to 
affect  me  say,  for  example,  in  my  communication  with  such 
kind  friends  as  yourself  and  Dr.  Lintner.  I  would  venture 
any  way,  I  think,  to  ask  at  your  convenience  for  advice  or 
instruction,  and  where  I  can  afford  information  I  shall  think 
myself  honoured  and  happy  to  render  it. 

But   I   do  not  understand   qualification.     You  have  the 

names  of  Mr.  C.  and  Mr.  S.  on  your  list.     I  do  not  know 

the  gentlemen,  so  cannot  tell  what  they  may  be  doing,  but 

our  grand  old  chief,  my  entomological  master,  and  friend 

'  See  letters  to  Mr.  Wise  in  chapter  XVI. 


2o8  LETTERS  TO   DR.    FLETCHER     [Chap.  xix. 

almost  of  a  lifetime,  dear  old  Professor  Westwood,  is  not 
there,  and  yet  ex-ojficio  as  Hope  Professor  of  Zoology  he 
lectures  on  Entomology  (to  the  best  of  my  belief)  regularly 
at  Oxford.  And  what  work  Dr.  Lindeman  does  !  It  would 
be  a  great  help  over  here  if  we  had  some  such  Society.  My 
work  is  so  very  solitary,  but  I  do  what  I  can. 

Dr.  Fream's  lectures.  [Steven  course  in  Edinburgh  Univer- 
sity] have  been  quite  a  success.  This  delights  me.  Professor 
Wallace  has  been  exceedingly  pleased  with  the  sound  manner 
in  which  he  built  up  his  Agricultural  Entomology  in  the 
students'  minds,  and  I  think  the  course  has  given  great 
satisfaction.  He  is  a  very  sound  worker,  and  I  should 
greatly  like  him  to  be  my  collaborateur  at  the  Royal  Agricul- 
tural Society  of  England.  I  have  not  brought  the  subject 
forward  yet,  but  if  there  were  an  Assistant  Entomologist 
who  might  present  my  Reports  instead  of  my  personal 
attendance  being  necessary  in  all  the  business  hurry  of  that 
great  number  of  gentlemen,  it  would  relieve  me  of  a  very 
distasteful  part  of  my  work. 

March  23,  1891. 

We  have  just  got  a  full  stream  of  applications  for  gratui- 
tous distribution  of  ''  Paris-green "  pamphlets,  so  we  are 
very  anxious  to  keep  all  in  hand.  I  greatly  hope  that  this 
will  take  hold.  We  broke  through  many  objections  last 
year,  and  now  we  can  point  to  saved  crops,  and  no  disas- 
trous massacre  of  gardeners — not  even  a  sparrow  defunct ; 
also  a  lessened  amount  of  Winter  moth  in  autumn,  and  a 
glorious  promise  of  flower  bud  on  trees  which  have  been 
reported  on.  Last  year  we  did  not  know  where  to  turn  for  a 
proper  sprayer  ;  now,  on  the  day  before  yesterday  there  was 
to  be  a**  contest  of  sprayers"  at  the  Crystal  Palace.  I  think 
this  shows  of  itself  how  the  matter  on  insecticide  sprayings 
has  come  forward.  I  am  fairly  broadcasting  the  P.G.  pam- 
phlets. Many  years  ago  when  a  railway  bridge  on  a  new 
method  of  construction  was  made  over  the  Wye  (plate  xxvi), 
near  my  old  home,  the  natives  were  ^'afraid  for  their  lives" 
to  go  over  it,  but  the  ingenious  plan  was  struck,  of  running 
any  one  gratuitously  over  and  back  all  day  long — the  trains 
of  trucks  were  crammed,  the  people  shouted  for  joy,  and  the 
victory  was  won ;  and  now  I  am  carrying  out  the  same  prin- 
ciple. Gentle  and  simple,  wise  and  very  unwise,  are  wanting 
"  Paris-green  "  pamphlets,  and  I  hope  that  by  the  sheets  of 
advice,  &c.,  that  have  to  be  sent  accompanying,  that  the  very 
silliest  souls  will  not  do  harm ;  and  meanwhile  we  are  getting 
the  subject  popularised.   You  will  think  that  I  am  tete  niontee 


mr^^K^^: 


a 

H 

"^ 
O 

< 


1891.]      EEL-WORMS  AND   INSECT   DIAGRAMS         209 

about  it,  but  it  has  been  a  long,  severe  labour,  and  I  tho- 
roughly believe  that  on  the  adoption  of  the  arsenical 
insecticides  depends  the  success  of  the  English  orchard 
growing  in  the  future. 

So  far  as  I  see,  the  "  grubs  "  have  not  been  the  least  the 
worse  for  the  cold  of  the  recent  frost  so  long  as  they  were  in 
their  self-made  shelters  below  ground,  but  we  carried  devas- 
tation amongst  hundreds  of  Cockchafer  grubs,  Melolontha 
vulgaris,  by  ploughing.  The  larvae  were  too  torpid  to  bury 
themselves,  and  the  birds  disposed  of  them  very  thoroughly. 

Dr.  Lindeman  writes  that  he  ^'had  a  district  inspection 
set  on  foot "  to  find  presence  of  Tylenchus  devastatrix  in 


I,  Adults;  2,  anterior  of  female,  showing  mouth-  "Tulip-rooted" 

spear  ;    3,  embryo  in  egg  —  all   greatly  magnified,  oat  plant, 

anterior  portion  440  times  (from  figures   by  Dr.  J,  *       *       *       * 
Ritzema  Bos).     One  of  the  causes  of  clover-sickness. 

FIG.  47.— STEM   EEL-WORMS,    TYLENCHUS  DEVASTATRIX. 


Russia,  but  '^always  with  negative  results."     This  is  very 
interesting. 

June  26,  1 89 1. 
Did  I  tell  you  that  my  sister  has  been  preparing  a  set  of 
twenty-four  diagrams — same  size  and  in  the  same  style  as 
that  of  the  Hessian  fly  ?  These  are  of  our  most  destructive 
or  most  remarkable  insect  pests — and  our  Royal  Agricultural 
Society  has  approved  so  highly  of  those  which  are  printed 
that  they  have  arranged  for  her  to  transfer  to  them  the 
ownership  of  copyright  of  the  set.     This  gratifies  her  very 

15 


210  LETTERS  TO   DR.   FLETCHER     [Chap.  xix. 

much.  They  pay  her  "  out  of  pocket "  expenses  of  printing 
and  she  presents  the  copyrights  and  her  work.  1  think  they 
form  a  very  beautiful  collection,  and  I  believe  the  Society 
means  to  bring  them  out  (together  with  my  previous  ones — 
p.  99)  in  little  half-dozen  sets.  Thus,  one  set  for  village 
schools,  one  for  fruit  growers,  one  for  forest  use.  I  hope 
they  will  be  very  useful  in  this  way  for  those  who  do  not 
wish  to  purchase  the  whole. 

We  have  certainly  good  proof  this  year  that  in  our  insular 
climate  cold  does  not  ^^kill  the  grubs."  If  it  were  possible 
it  would  even  seem  the  Entomons  were  the  better  for  it. 

September  26,  1891. 

A  letter  came  from  Adelaide  to  announce  Mr.  Frazer 
Crawford's  decease.  It  was  caused  by  chronic  gout  and  heart 
disease.  He  had  been  as  cheerful  as  usual,  and  when  a  friend 
left  him  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  he  set  to  work  to 
prepare  a  scientific  article,  but  not  long  after  he  went  to 
bed.  On  the  following  morning,  October  30th,  the  servant 
found  the  lamp  still  burning,  but  Mr.  Crawford  had  quietly 
passed  away  as  if  in  sleep  with  his  book,  a  volume  of  Crypto- 
gamic  Botany,  fallen  from  his  hand.  He  was  a  perfectly 
indefatigable  worker  ;  even  in  the  last  month  of  his  life, 
weighed  down  as  he  was  by  all  the  inconveniences  and 
pains  of  hip  disease  besides  those  which  took  him  from  us, 
he  prepared  a  long  paper  on  vegetable  and  other  plant  pests 
for  the  '^  Garden  and  Field,"  in  which  he  wrote,  besides  a 
review  of  my  Manual.  And  a  warning  paper  by  him  on  the 
danger  of  importing  Phylloxera  appeared  in  the  Report  of 
the  Bureau  of  Agriculture  of  South  Australia  accompanying 
the  notice  of  his  death.  As  a  friend  he  was  excessively 
valued  by  all  who  knew  his  kindness  and  his  worth,  and 
his  loss  is  deeply  regretted  at  Adelaide.  To  myself  it  is 
a  very  great  cause  of  regret  both  as  a  true  friend  and  an 
Entomological  colleague. 

February  6-8,  1892. 

I  have  this  afternoon  sent  the  index  to  my  fifteenth  Report 
up  to  press,  and  am  now  enjoying  myself  by  at  least  begin- 
ning a  letter  to  you.  I  hope  you  will  like  the  report.  The 
paper  on  Plutella  cruciferarum  (Diamond-back  moth)  is  quite 
enormously  long,  but  I  believe  so  far  as  evidence  in  my 
hands  shows,  that,  taking  all  points  of  the  attack  together, 
it  has  been  unexampled  in  this  country  before,  and  I  was 
very  desirous  to  present  a  trustworthy  record,  which  would 
bear  sifting  at  every  corner  as  to  what  did  happen,  and 
readers    could    judge    for    themselves    whether    my   con- 


1892.]  DIAMOND-BACK   MOTH  211 

elusions  are  well  founded.  I  think  the  moths  were  wind- 
borne.  When  the  report  reaches  you  I  should  very  much 
like  if  you  would  read  the  ^^  General  Summary,"  pp.  157-164, 
first,  or  you  may  really  wonder  what  could  have  induced  me 
to  give  such  a  host  of  reports  on  the  pest.  I  greatly  doubt 
whether,  without  proper  identification,  we  could  trust  to 
farmers  distinguishing  between  Diamond-back  moth  cater- 
pillars and  those  of  Turnip  sawfly,  and  there  is  no  good  at  all 
in  trusting  to  their  reminiscences  !  No  more  than  to  moths 
being  attracted  to  the  dark  side  of  a  lighthouse  (see  p.  159 
of  my  Report).     I  have  taken  great  pains  to  be  accurate. 

In  No.  I  of  '^Canadian  Entomologist"  for  this  year, 
which  arrived  on  Saturday,  the  6th,  I  read  with  much 
interest  some  of  the  observations  on  "  Can  insects  survive 
freezing  ? "  and  I  thought  perhaps  you  might  like  to  look  at  a 


I,  Caterpillar  ;  2,  eggs  ;  3-5,  diamond-back  moth,  natural  size 
and  magnified. 

FIG.  48. — DIAMOND-BACK  MOTH,   PLUTELLA   CRUCIFERARUM    ZELL., 
CEROSTOMA   XYLOSTELLA,   CURTIS. 

few  slight  observations  which  I  read  before  our  Entomo- 
logical Society  in  1879.  ^^  ^^at  time  I  was  one  of  the 
regular  daily  observers  of  the  Royal  Meteorological  Society, 
so  I  was  able  to  be  sure  of  readings  of  temperatures,  but  I 
could  not  get  nearly  as  many  examples  as  I  wanted  of  the 
insects.  Mr.  Whipple's  experiment,  which  I  have  added, 
was  the  best.  I  used  to  think  it  very  interesting  to  see  how 
some  larvae  would  crack  across  like  little  bits  of  stick,  and 
their  brethren  when  thawed  would  recover  themselves.  If 
you  think  the  remarks  are  of  any  interest  pray  make  any  use 
that  you  please  of  them — it  would  delight  me  if  they  were 
of  any  use. 

Have  you  chanced  to  hear  from   any  quarter  that   the 


212  LETTERS  TO   DR.   FLETCHER     [Chap.  xix. 

Mediterranean  flour  moth  (p.  179)  has  made  its  appearance 
in  Moscow  ?  It  is  now  a  few  weeks  since  Dr.  Lindeman 
wrote  me  that  it  had  been  found  there  in  a  chocolate  or 
cocoa  store  brought  by  bags  from  London  (England).  Ap- 
parently the  enemy  was  descended  on  with  full  power,  and 
no  delay,  and  he  hoped  it  was  stamped  out.  It  puzzled  me 
at  first  how  kuhniella  came  to  be  in  chocolate,  &c.,  but  it  was 
suggested  that  these  food-cake  compositions  were  much 
adulterated  with  flour.  The  pest  is  steadily  spreading  here, 
and  you  will  see  in  my  Report  that  I  have  again  reprinted  a 
portion  of  your  directions. 

The  weather  has  been  so  wet  that  very  great  breadths  of 
wheat-land  have  remained  unsown,  so  at  present  I  have  had 
little  inquiry  about  the  young  plant  pests,  but  with  warmth 
and  sunshine  I  expect  they  will  come  with  a  rush.  I  am 
just  beginning  a  second  edition  of  my  little  ^' Guide." 

August  22,  1892. 

After  an  operation  on  my  knee  the  joint  was  right,  but  the 
long  suffering  had  lowered  my  health  exceedingly — and  great 
pain  pretty  constantly  in  the  troubled  limb,  with  occasionally 
racking  neuralgia,  reduced  me  to  such  a  state  that  I  was 
gravely  warned  recovery  was  hopeless  unless  I  lessened 
the  enormous  load  of  work.  So  as  it  was  the  engaged  and 
routine  work  of  my  *'  office  "  which  was  so  very  harassing,  I 
resigned  my  post  at  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  as  their 
Consulting  Entomologist,  and  I  have  ever  since  been  steadily 
progressing  towards  recovery.  Sleep  has  returned,  and  the 
ierrible  pain  of  the  neuralgia  is  gone,  and  I  can  work  happily 
and  comfortably. 

I  do  not  know  how  it  happened,  but  the  work  (quite 
beyond  what  seemed  my  work)  amplified  on  all  hands — 
Continental  and  Colonial,  and  revision  of  papers,  &c.,  &c. 
— until  it  would  have  required  a  good  man  of  business  and 
a  staff  to  see  to  it  all.     So  I  cut  the  Gordian  knot. 

I  hope  not  to  make  any  difference  at  all  in  my  Agricultural 
Entomological  work  for  the  country,  especially  as  referee  for 
the  farmers  and  fruit-growers  and  the  agricultural  papers  ; 
also  to  continue  my  Annual  Reports — and  in  all  ways  to  work 
thoroughly.  But  this  is  very  different  to  being  obliged  to 
attend  ex-officio  to  people  and  things  who  or  which  appeared 
to  me  really  often  to  take  up  time  to  little  purpose,  or  even 
to  prevent  attention  to  really  important  investigation. 

November  21,  1892. 
One  very  great  trouble  last  year  was  the  fungoid  attack  to 


1892.] 


ANBURY  AND   EEL-WORMS 


213 


cabbage  and  turnip  roots,  which  we  call  here  "  Club "  or 
"  Anbury/'  or  ^*  Finger  and  Toe."  I  do  not  know  whether 
you  have  it  in  Canada.  You  will  recognise  it  perhaps  best 
under  the  scientific  name  of  the  **  Slime  fungus "  which 
causes  it — Plasmodiophora  hrassicce  of  Woronin.  Our  people 
confuse  it  so  constantly  with  maggot  root  attacks  that  they 
send  me  a  deal  of  inquiry  about  it,  so  I  do  not  think  there 
can  be  any  harm  (as  I  have  really  studied  it  for  many  years) 
in  giving  a  paper  on  it  in  my  next  Report,  and  I  have  secured 
three  excellent  photos  from  life,  which  I  hope  will  each  give 
a  good  whole-page  figure  of  the  three  chief  forms  respec- 
tively. 

There  are  some  nice  new  reports  of  infestation  (so  to 


I,  Larva;  2  and  3,  females;  4  and  5,  eggs  in  different  stages  of 
development — all  enormously  magnified  (2  from  sketch  by  E.  A.  O,  ;  the 
other  figures  after  Prof.  Geo.  Atkinson). 

FIG.   49. — TOMATO   ROOT-KNOT   EEL-WORM,   HETERODERA    {ANGUILLULA) 
RADICICOLA,   MiJLLER. 


describe  them),  and  I  am  working  as  steadily  as  I  can,  but 
I  wish  I  could  get  on  faster.  I  envy  you  your  power  of 
doing  sound  and  good  work  so  rapidly. 

I  have  never  thanked  you  for  your  excellent  paper  on  the 
"  Horn  fly  "  {Hcematohia  comiicola),  which  I  read  with  very 
great  interest  and  benefit,  and  lodged  some  of  your  liberal 
supply  of  copies  where  I  thought  they  would  be  most 
useful — including  getting  attention  drawn  to  the  subject  in 
the  "Agricultural  Gazette." 

Dr.  Bethune  most  kindly  asked  my  sister  and  myself  to 


214 


LETTERS  TO   DR.    FLETCHER     [Chap.  xix. 


come  over  to  stay  at  Port  Hope  for  the  Chicago  Exhibition, 
but  deHghtful  as  it  would  be  to  see  all  the  friends  who  would 
be  gathered  to  such  a  centre,  neither  sister  nor  self  could 
manage  the  fatigue. 

Our  millionaire  lady  who  is  so  known  for  her  philan- 
thropic work — Baroness  Burdett-Coutts — wrote  me  that  she 
had  been  elected  President  of  the,  or  a  Woman's  Branch  of 
the,  Chicago  Exhibition,  and  desired  an  account  of  the 
"  Genesis  of  my  organisation  ! "  What  could  I  say  ? 
There  is  not  a  woman  but  myself  and  my  sister  in  it. 
I  thought  of  Canning's  famous  ^' Knife  Grinder"  story, 
^'  God  bless  you,  I  have  none  to  tell,  sir."  The  Baroness 
wrote  that  she  was  obtaining  information  from  the  Bishops 


:e.c.k. 


Female,  showing  side  and  upper  surface  ;  larval  scales,  with  legs 
still  visible — all  magnified  ;  infested  gooseberry  twig. 

FIG.  50. — CURRANT  AND   GOOSEBERRY  SCALE,  LECANIUM  R/BIS,   PITCH. 


and  the  heads  of  all  the  Churches,  so  I  suppose  her  branch 
is  pur  et  simple  religious  female  organisations. 

March  13-16,  1893. 

You  will  see  by  a  copy  of  the  Report  I  have  just  issued 
that  we  have  really  got  the  Heterodera  radicicola  (Root-knot 
eel-worm).  I  should  have  liked  to  give  the  name  of  the 
sufferer,  but  he  is  our  greatest  English  tomato  grower,  and 
it  might  have  injured  his  business.  He  is  trying  many 
experiments,  and  at  the  end  of  April  he  is  going  to  give  me 
a  report.  It  would  be  a  pleasure  indeed  if  we  managed  to 
make  out  any  serviceable  remedy. 

At  present  I  am  trying  to  make  a  fair  history  and  descrip- 


1893.]  SCALE   AND   MUSTARD   BEETLE  215 

tion  of  the  Gooseberry  scale,  Lecanium  ribis,  Fitch,  which 
has  made  such  a  headquarters  here  (I  suppose  set  up  when 
I  was  too  ill  to  look  after  it)  that  I  think  I  must  almost  have 
a  chance  of  finding  the  desiderated  male  !  But  except  the 
few  lines  by  Dr.  Signoret  we  do  not  seem  to  have  a  European 
description.  Locusts  came  over  in  imported  vegetables  and 
fodder  about  a  month  ago,  so  that  I  secured  three  species, 
but  no  more  are  arriving  now.  Mine  and  the  grower's 
chief  investigation  at  present  is  as  to  finding  measures  to 
check  the  attack  of  the  Mustard  beetle,  Phcedon  betulce,  and 
evil-doers  of  similar  habits,  and  I  am  making  a  kind  of  link 
in  operations  with  Messrs.  Colman  and  Messrs.  Keen,  our 
two  great  rival  mustard  firms,  and  I  greatly  hope  we  shall 
make  some  advance. 


Beetle,  natural  size  and  magnified  ;  maggot,  magnified,  and 
natural  size  on  leaf, 

FIG.   51.— MUSTARD   BEETLE,   PHMDON  BETULM,   LINN. 

One  great  worry  is  these  (to  my  thinking)   unqualified 
so-called  lecturers  sent  out  by  the  County  Councils. 

May  22,  1893. 
I  only  knew  as  a  fact  a  very  little  while  ago  that  Professor 
Riley  was  standing  for  the  post  of  "  Hope  Professor  of 
Zoology  "  at  Oxford,  vacant  by  the  death  of  our  grand  old 
friend  Professor  West  wood.  Mr.  Hachett-Jackson  (Professor 
Westwood's  assistant,  I  believe)  wrote  to  me  very  urgently 
from  Keble  College,  and  I  responded  most  heartily, 
mentioning  everything  I  could  think  of  that  might  assist 
Professor  Riley's  election.  It  would  have  been  a  benefit  to 
myself  past  hoping  for  to  have  a  really  great  Entomologist 
like  Professor  Riley  in  a  definite  post  over  here.  The 
magician's  rod  would  have  beaten  all  kinds  of  underhand 
misrepresentations,  scientific  and  practical,  out  of  the  field. 


2i6  LETTERS  TO   DR.    FLETCHER     [Chap.  xix. 

Anyway  I  fear  that  Professor  Riley  has  hardly  a  chance, 
and  indeed  I  wonder  that  he  should  contemplate  changing 
his  grand  central'  position — central  to  the  whole  world — for 
such  a  very  inferior  post  without  genial  colleagues  around 
him. 

By  book  post  accompanying  I  send  a  copy  of  Mons.  J. 
Danysz's  paper  on  Ephestia  (Flour  moth),  to  your  kind 
acceptance,  in  case  you  have  not  yet  seen  it ;  you  will  be 
interested  to  run  it  over  and  see  his  views  of  Pyrethrum. 
I  very  much  doubt  whether  we  could  get  our  millers  to  try 
it,  but  it  would  be  different  with  you. 


CHAPTER   XX 

LETTERS     TO     DR.    J.    FLETCHER     (continued)    AND     TO 
DR.    BETHUNE 

Foreign  correspondents— Book  by  Dr.  Napela— Efforts  to  endow  Agricultural 
lectures  at  Oxford  or  Cambridge -Literary  productions — Sympathetic 
communications. 

The  letters  addressed  to  Dr.  Fletcher  after  his  visit  to  Miss 
Ormerod  and  her  sister  Georgiana  at  St.  Albans  have  here 
been  grouped,  as  a  matter  of  convenience,  with  letters  to 
the  Rev.  Dr.  C.  J.  S.  Bethune,  another  Canadian  Ento- 
mologist, who  held  a  high  place  in  Miss  Ormerod's  esteem, 
both  as  a  man  of  science  and  as  a  sympathetic  friend  in 
whom  to  confide  in  times  of  sorrow. 

To  Dr.  J.  Fletchery  Dominion  Entomologist^  Ottawa^  Canada, 

TORRINGTON    HoUSE,  St.  AlBANS, 

September  2()-20,  1893. 

Dear  Dr.  Fletcher, — We  were  very  glad  to  hear  you 
had  safely  returned  home.  I  wish  we  could  have  had  a 
longer  chat,  but  I  will  be  thankful  for  the  very  great 
pleasure  of  chatting  with  you  at  all. 

Just  after  you  had  left  (or  rather,  I  think,  were  leaving) 
England  the  Rothamsted  Jubilee  took  place,  which  brought 
very  many  distinguished  agriculturists  to  this  part  of  the 
country,  and  you  may  imagine  how  much  it  was  wished 
that  you  could  have  been  present.  I  did  not  attend,  but 
a  few  friends  from  long  distances  off  looked  in  here  on  their 
way. 

November  26  and  December  i,  1893. 
I  have  long  been  owing  you  a  letter,  and  thanks,  too,  for 
your  '^  Entomological  Report,"  which  I  read  at  once  when 
it  reached  me.     You  know  the  pleasure  and  the  confidence 

I  feel  in  all  I  learn  from  your  writings.     They  and  your 

217 


2i8  LETTERS  TO   DR.   FLETCHER     [Chap.  xx. 

kind  co-operation  have  been  an  immense  help  to  my  work 
and  me  for  many  a  year,  which  I  have  never  ceased  to 
appreciate  most  gratefully.  I  am  working  now  on  my  next 
Annual  Report.  There  has  been  a  good  deal  of  nice  fresh 
matter  sent  in,  and  (so  far  as  I  could)  I  have  tried  not  to  go 
over  old  ground.  I  have  a  grand  paper  on  Locusts  (fig.  55), 
my  specimens  being  identified  at  Madrid  by  Senor  Don  Igo 
Bolivar.  Wasps  were  a  terrible  plague — and  I  have  got 
some  charming  observations,  so  entertaining  1  but  I  have 
taken  great  care  to  have  them  on  good  authority — and 
M.  Schoyen  kindly  sent  me  some  notes  by  the  Swedish 
State  Entomologist  of  an  enormous  appearance  at  Tromsoe 
a  few  years  ago.  As  this  is  so  high  up  in  the  Arctic  circle  I 
thought  the  record  would  be  of  interest  scientifically,  and  it 
is  so  spirited  I  have  had  many  a  good  laugh  over  it  (p.  239). 

But  what  I  hope  you  may  be  really  pleased  with  is,  that 
through  the  kind  introduction  of  Dr.  Friedrich  Thomas,  of 
Ohrdruf,  whom  you  will  know,  I  think,  as  one  of  our  lead- 
ing European  Phytopathologists,  I  was  put  in  communica- 
tion with  Dr.  A.  Nalepa  (of  Vienna),  who  for  some  years 
back  has  quite  especially  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of 
Phytoptidce  (Blister  galls).  So  that  now  we  have  in  his 
successive  publications  first-rate  specific  descriptions,  with 
measurements  and  everything  requisite  for  certain  identifica- 
tion of  all  the  species  which  he  has  studied  so  far.  Also  in 
very  many  cases  he  gives  good  magnified  figures,  and  he 
added  to  his  many  kindnesses  to  myself  by  sending  me  a 
plate  with  the  details  of  the  creatures  marked  with  the  tech- 
nical names.  In  his  treatises  already  published  he  has 
given  excellent  accounts  of  very  many  species  as  well  as  a 
good  serviceable  classification,  and  I  rather  think  that  the 
work  which  has  been  coming  out  in  the  Reports  of  the 
Imperial  Scientific  Society  of  Vienna  is  to  be  completed 
this  spring. 

This  letter  has  been  lying  by  me  for  a  few  days  for  an 
addition  I  wanted  to  make,  and  now  I  have  to  thank  you 
very  heartily  for  the  great  kindness  which  you  have  shown 

to  poor  Mr.  T [a  West  of  England  farmer  who  had 

been  unfortunate].  If  he  can  manage  to  adapt  himself  to 
circumstances  your  timely  and  great  assistance  will  have 
been  the  means  of  setting  him  up  again.  I  doubted  rather 
whether  it  was  right  of  me  to  trouble  you  about  him,  still  I 
thought  I  would  venture,  and  indeed  your  help  will  have 
been  the  means  of  saving  him  from  going  quite  down.  I 
had  no  idea  (no  more  apparently  than  Mr.  T )  that  his 


1894.]  DR.   NALEPA   ON   GALL   MITES  219 

Canadian  prospects  on  his  own  and  relations'  standing  were 
so  hopeless.  Do  you  think  a  little  money  would  help  ? 
Say  a  couple  of  £^  notes  or  so,  for  possibly  thick  clothing 
is  a  matter  needing  supply.  If  you  think  it  would  be  well, 
we  would  very  gladly  (if  you  would  kindly  give  me  his 
address)  send  out  a  little.  One  can  get  over  scruples  by 
calling  it  ^^a  loan,"  and  to  be  returned,  if  ever,  at  con- 
venience, or  not  at  all  if  more  so,  but  I  do  not  like  to  send 
without  your  leave. 

December  z,  1893. 

A  hasty  line  to  catch  post,  about  Dr.  Nalepa's  books.  I 
have  just  heard  from  Messrs.  Wesley  that  they  have  ordered 
(as  I  asked  them)  a  duplicate  set  of  the  four  of  Dr.  N.'s 
pamphlets  which  I  have,  and  sent  you  the  names  of  yester- 
day. When  these  arrive  I  shall  send  them  on  to  you, 
hoping  you  will  kindly  accept  them,  if  for  no  other  reason, 
to  be  a  trifling  reminder  to  you  of  how  much  I  appreciate 
your  always  kind  help  to  myself.  The  money  value,  as  I 
mentioned  to  you,  is  small,  but  I  am  very  desirous  that  you 
should  have  them  as  soon  as  possible,  and  ordering  from 
here  will  save  some  delay. 

Mr.  Sinclair  [the  editor]  wrote  me  thanks  for  your  paper, 
and  that  he  is  having  a  figure  of  your  fly  copied  for  the 
^^  Live  Stock  Journal."     This  will  attract  attention  surely. 

December  21,  1893. 

I  wonder  if  you  ever  came  across  any  observation  of 
moths — i.e.f  their  larvae — injuring  silk  in  the  raw  material, 
as  they  habitually  do  woollen  goods.  I  did  not  know  that 
they  did,  but  this  morning  I  had  an  inquiry  about  it  from 
Tiverton,  and  amongst  the  moths  sent  as  offenders  was  a 
lovely  white  cocoon,  which  appeared  as  if  it  might  have 
been  made  of  the  same  material  as  the  beautifully  fine  silk 
manufactured  web  or  net  sent  with  it,  and  outside  this 
cocoon,  now  empty,  were  a  number  of  little  pellets  of  pale 
larval  excrement,  as  if  they  were  the  results  of  feeding  on 
very  pale  material.  I  hope  to  hear  more  of  this.  Would  it 
not  be  a  nice  new  observation  ? 

March  13,  1894. 

Very  many  thanks  for  the  copy  of  your  charming  Report 
kindly  sent  to  myself,  and  the  six  so  liberally  also  presented, 
which  I  am  placing  carefully  where  they  will  be  appreciated 
and  useful.  One  I  sent  to  our  Lancashire  and  Cheshire 
Entomological  Society,  to  the  pleasure  of  the  President. 
They  are  doing  a  good  deal  of  nice  work,  and  were  going 
to   have  a  special    exhibition    of    Silphidce   (Beet    carrion 


220  LETTERS  TO   DR.   FLETCHER     [Chap.  xx. 

beetles),  with  observations  (fig.  26).  I  like  your  Report  very 
much ;  there  is  an  immense  amount  of  good,  sound, 
straightforward  information,  both  scientific  and  practical, 
in  it,  and  it  is  quite  an  example  of  honest  dealing  with  your 
body  of  observers.  I  have  been  very  much  interested  in 
your  Silpha  notes,  and  I  wonder  whether  we  could  get  our 
farmers  to  try  poisoning  the  cutworms,  "surface  cater- 
pillars "  as  we  call  them  here.  I  wonder  whether  I  should 
not  do  well  to  follow  your  example  and  have  short  notes  of 
anything  interesting,  even  without  giving  a  long  story. 
These  embody  a  great  deal  of  useful  information,  but  with 
us  who  are  so  behindhand  in  entomological  information,  I 
have  been  afraid  that  without  a  full  account  and  a  figure  the 
readers  would  be  all  abroad.  I  was  very  much  gratified  to 
see  the  honourable  place  you  give  my  name  among  your 
colleagues.     Indeed  this  pleases  me  very  much. 

I  was  very  much  interested  with  what  you  told  me  of 
overplus  of  wasps  having  accompanied  deficiency  of  rainfall 
in  one  portion  of  your  part  of  the  world.  Our  Press  has 
been  very  kind  to  me,  and  I  was  particularly  pleased  with 
one  remark,  that  (although  retired  from  the  Royal  Agricul- 
tural Society)  I  had  not  ceased  to  be  the  "Consulting 
Entomologist  of  the  Agriculturists  of  Great  Britain." 

Just  now  I  am  running  a  leaflet  on  Bryohia  prcetiosa 
(Gooseberry  red  spider),  through  the  press,  and  this  morn- 
ing I  had  an  order  for  3,000  copies  !  Just  think  of  that,  and 
without  the  firm  even  seeing  it ! 

April  9,  1894. 

I  am  trying  to  bring  kerosene,  or  mineral  oil  emulsion 
more  forward  as  an  insecticide.  I  have  given  a  number  of 
the  best  recipes  in  one  of  our  leading  agricultural  journals — 
"  The  Farmer's  Gazette,"  Dublin — with  the  information  that 
for  those  who  cannot  manage  permanent  combination  of 
the  constituents,  the  so-called  "antipest"  makes  a  good 
substitute. 

It  appears  that  "formalin,"  as  the  trade  name  is  called,  is 
being  brought  out  as  a  disinfectant.  Mr.  A.  Zimmermann 
has  been  trying  the  effects  as  an  insecticide  on  greenhouse 
plants,  and  he  considered  it  so  bad  for  the  insects,  and 
beneficial  rather  than  hurtful  to  the  plants,  that  he  wanted 
my  co-operation  in  getting  it  tried.  Dr.  Bernard  Dyer  told 
me  he  thought  it  would  be  well  worth  trial. 

The  point  that  occurred  to  me  was  could  we  use  it  against 
the  Flour  moth,  E.  kuhniella  ?  At  present  we  have  got  some 
flour  well  impregnated  with  emanation  from  some  of  the 


i894.] 


GOOSEBERRY   RED  SPIDER 


22i 


tablets,  and  Mr.  Zimmerman n  was  going  to  have  a  loaf  baked 
of  some  of  this  flour,  and  consumed  in  his  own  large  house- 
hold, without  letting  them  know  there  is  anything  peculiar 
about  it !  I  am  to  know  results  ;  and  I  have  said  I  should 
like  a  piece  of  the  experimental  loaf.  I  hope  we  shall  not 
all  be  made  very  miserable  indeed.  If  the  flour  rises 
properly,  and  the  bread  is  fit  to  be  eaten,  then  I  am 
meditating  getting  an  experiment  made  as  to  the  destruc- 
tive powers  of  the  fumes  by  some  of  our  folks  here  connected 
with  milling,  and  also  suggesting  to  Mons.  ].  Danysz, 
Director  of  the  Laboratory  of  Parasitology,  Bourse  de 
Commerce,  Paris,  whether  he  might  care  to  experiment 
in  some  of  the  French  mills  with  which  he  had  been  in 


From  life  ;  Red  spider  (outline  figure  after  Koch) — both  magnified. 
Infested  leaf,  natural  size. 


FIG.  52.- 


■GOOSEBERRY   AND   IVY   RED   SPIDER,   BRYOBIA   PRMTIOSA, 
C.   L.   KOCH. 


communication  regarding  destruction  of  E.  kithniella.  The 
chemical  is  sold  in  tablets  like  large  thick  lozenges,  and  also 
as  a  fluid,  and,  I  believe,  in  powder. 

Enclosed  is  a  little  packet  of  seed  of  the  pink  hawkweed, 
which  you  thought  pretty  while  here  last  summer,  and  a  few 
seeds  also  of  the  white  Lathyrus  (vetchling).  I  hope  they 
may  remind  you  how  welcome  your  visits  here  are. 

^U7ie  20,  1894. 
I  was  so  sorry  to  learn  from  Professor  Riley's  circular  that 
he  really  had  resigned,  and  also  from  some  observations  in  it 


222  LETTERS  TO   DR.   FLETCHER     [Chap.  xx. 

to  surmise  that  all  had  not  been  quite  comfortable.  Who 
will  be  his  successor  ?  Will  it  be  Mr.  L.  O.  Howard,  I 
wonder  ?  I  expect  that  Professor  Riley  (unless  he  is  really 
very  ill)  will  work  at  his  Entomology  from  morning  till 
night  or  more. 

The  oak  trees  have  been  very  severely  injured  by  cater- 
pillars in  various  places.  Down  near  Lymington,  Hants, 
one  of  my  correspondents  tells  me  the  leafage  is  stripped 
so  that  the  trees  look  as  if  it  were  the  middle  of  the  winter. 
Aphides  also  are  very  great  pests  this  year,  and  we  had  a 
bad  grass  attack  of  them  near  Newcastle-on-Tyne.  They 
were  reported  to  be  spreading  rapidly  from  one  large  field 
(that  is,  large  for  us)  of  15  to  20  acres,  so  I  thought  the  best 
advice  I  could  give  was  to  mow  the  field — in  the  most 
literal  sense,  cut  off  the  source  of  evil. 

Is  it  not  rather  an  interesting  point  to  think  of — that 
whether  the  weather  be  hot  and  dry,  or  cold  and  wet,  there 
are  some  kinds  of  insect  attack  which  appear  to  do  equally 
well  ?  The-  crops  bear  up  better  in  special  circumstances, 
but  their  unpleasant  enemies  seem  to  me  just  as  com- 
fortable. 

I  have  got  a  very  curious  investigation  on  hand  of  the 
mischief  of  some  beetles  on  the  grassland  of  our  South 
American  Land  Co.  in  the  Argentine  Territories.  I  will 
enclose  or  send  you  a  little  note  I  put  in  one  of  our  agri- 
cultural papers.  Is  it  not  curious  that  the  two  Scarabseid 
beetles  sent  over  with  the  Dynastids  should  so  rarely  come 
to  hand  here  that  there  is  only  one  specimen  of  each  in  our 
British  Museum  !  I  hope  to  work  up  the  observations,  or 
rather,  to  get  a  good  deal  of  trustworthy  observation  to  work 
upon,  and  to  get  some  more  specimens. 

July  16,  1894. 

I  am  now  writing  first  of  all  to  ask  you  kindly  to  accept  a 
copy  of  the  translation  by  Professor  Ainsworth  Davis  of  Dr. 
Ritzema  Bos's  "Agricultural  Zoology."  It  seems  to  me  a  very 
useful  book,  but  I  think  it  is  a  mistake  of  Messrs.  Chapman  & 
Hall  to  have  so  arranged  it  that  the  price  is  6s.  This  is  almost 
a  prohibitory  price  to  many  who  could  find  2S.  6d.  or  3s. 
Also,  if  I  had  seen  proof  of  title  I  think  I  would  have  asked 
for  my  name  to  appear  in  a  much  more  secondary  fashion. 
I  should  mention  this  copy  is  one  of  a  few  sent  me  for 
friends.  I  did  not  buy  it  or  I  would  not  have  enlarged  on 
the  price !  I  have  written,  by  request  of  Professor  Davis,  a 
short  Introduction,  and  I  was  very  glad  to  do  it  to  show  that 
I  had  no  feeling  of  opposition,  for  much  of  it  is  on  parallel 


1%.] 


GROUND   BEETLES 


223 


lines  with  my  Manual,  and  there  might  have  been  misunder- 
standings which  I  should  have  been  very  sorry  for — for  Dr. 
Ritzema  Bos  is  always  kind  in  helping  me. 

You  will  believe  how  intensely  I  was  interested  in  all  I 
could  hear  about  Professor  Riley's  retirement.  I  was  sorry 
for  his  indifferent  health,  but  perhaps  it  was  more  the  desire 
to  be  a  free  agent  that  led  to  his  resignation.  I  think  I 
could  feel  very  much  with  him,  but  his  was  a  magnificent 
post  to  resign. 

October  28,  1895. 

I  was  shocked  and  grieved  to  receive  the  news  of  our 
friend  Professor  Riley's  fatal  accident.^  Dr.  Bethune  kindly 
sent  me  a  paper  with  the  full  account,  and  as  I  did  not  know 
what  any  one  might  do  in  properly  announcing  it  here,  I 
wrote  a  short  letter  to  the  ^'  Times  "  which  they  inserted  at 
once.     This  was  just  what  one  might  call  a  friendly  notice  ; 


H.K. 


Magnified,  and  lines  showing  natural  length  ;  strawberry  fruit 
gnawed  by  Harpaliis  nificornis. 

FIG.   53. — GROUND   BEETLES — "BAT   BEETLE,"   HARPALUS  RUFICORNIS, 
FAB.   (left),   PTEROSTICIIUS    VULGARIS,    LINN,   (right). 


an  account  of  the  accident  and  a  few  observations,;  the  dry 
obituary  notice  (I  mean  the  regular  formal  notice)  had  been 
inserted  the  previous  day.  I  was  very  pleased  to  see 
yours  in  the  ''Canadian  Entomologist."  It  was  very  sad, 
and  I  feel  his  loss  much,  for  he  was  always,  when  we  cor- 
responded, kind  and  helpful. 

Here,  things  are  going  on  (or  standing  still)  much  as 
usual,  but  it  has  been  a  grand  year  for  fresh  observations. 
I  have  secured  a  long  carefully  watched  observation  of 
Harpalus  ruficornis  (Ground  beetle)  feeding  on  strawberry 

*  See  Appendix  E. 


224  LETTERS  TO   DR.   FLETCHER     [Chap.  xx. 

fruit.  I  watched  and  recorded  until  I  got  so  weary  of  acting 
as  their  fruiterer  that  I  thought  seventeen  days'  observation 
was  enough. 

Amongst  pine  attackers  I  have  had  a  lovely  specimen  of 
the  Astynonms  cedilis  (Timberman  beetle),  sent  me  from  the 
north  of  Scotland,  the  longest  horned  of  the  European 
^Monghorns."  It  is  wonderfully  pretty  to  see  the  tiny  beetle, 
not  three-quarters  of  an  inch  long,  comfortably  bearing 
its  delicate  antennae,  nearly  half  a  foot  in  expanse.  Also 
I  have  got  a  good  observation  of  the  Pine  Shoot  moth's 
bad  doings  ;  the  Retinia  buoliana,  the  "  Post-horn  "  attack 
as  they  call  it  in  Germany,  from  the  twisted  shoots  ;  and 
some  other  fresh  work — but  the  great  point  of  this  year's 
observation  is  Horse  and  Cattle  Diptera,  Warble  flies,  Gad 


Slightly  larger  than  life  ;  line  showing  natural  length. 

FIG.   54. — TIMBERMAN   BEETLE,   ASTVNOMUS  MDILIS. 

flies,  and  Forest  flies.  Just  now  Forest  flies  are  being  sent 
me  from  India.  The  Indian  species  is  very  pretty.  I  have 
been  working  up  the  structure  of  the  Hippoboscal  foot,  which 
is  indeed  wonderful  (pis.  xxiii.,  xxiv.).  I  do  not  understand 
the  details,  so  I  have  had  two  great  drawings  made,  and  litho- 
graphed, for  my  next  Annual  Report,  with  the  tiny  foot  mag- 
nified to  a  size  of  6  inches  by  5,  showing  every  detail  that 
appears  to  me  observable,  and  I  wonder  what  the  parts  will 
be  considered  to  do.  I  think  I  have  made  out  a  good  deal, 
but  there  is  some  apparatus  that  none  of  the  few  people  I 
have  consulted  make  out. 

May  15,  1897. 

You  will  have  seen  the  state  of  enthusiasm  this  whole 
country  is  in  about  the  celebration  of  the  Queen's  Jubilee. 
I  trust  that  the  exertion  and  excitement  will  not  be  quite  too 
much  for  her,  but  it  will  be  a  great  trial. 

Another  matter  I  feel  more  at  home  in — do  you  happen 
to  have  seen  in  some  of  our  English  papers  that  some  of  us 


1898.]  UNIVERSITY   MATTERS  225 

are  trying  to  get  an  Agricultural  Lectureship  established  in 
the  University  of  Oxford  ?  It  came  about  this  way.  It 
appears  that  the  funds  for  support  of  the  Sibthorpian  Pro- 
fessorship of  Rural  Economy  had  fallen  so  low,  that  it  was 
feared  it  would  have  to  be  given  up.  But  the  Clothworkers' 
Company  came  forward  with  the  offer  of  ;^2oo  a  year  for 
five  years  on  condition  of  Agriculture  being  made  one  of 
the  subjects  to  be  taken  for  degrees.  I  offered  ;^ioo  on  the 
same  terms,  and  then  it  was  offered  by  one  or  two  people 
jointly,  on  the  same  terms,  to  clear  off  a  debt  which  seemed 
growing  like  a  snowball.  The  matter  is  now  under  con- 
sideration by  the  University  authorities.  They  would  gladly 
accept  the  money,  I  believe,  for  an  Agricultural  Lecture- 
ship on  which  attendance  was  voluntary,  but  the  difficulty 
is  accepting  the  matter  as  essential  for  a  degree. 

Instruction  in  agriculture  (that  is,  chemistry,  forestry, 
entomology,  &c.)  would  do  a  great  deal  of  good  at  such  a 
centre  of  our  ''coming  on"  great  landholders  as  Oxford, 
but  the  students  will  not  attend  the  lectures  unless  the 
matter  is  compulsory.  Prof.  Warington  is  the  Sibthorpian 
lecturer — a  friend  and  neighbour  (at  least,  he  and  his  wife 
live  very  near  by  railway) — so  we  can  talk  over  progress. 
He  has  his  hands,  I  think,  very  full.  In  case  after  due  con- 
sideration Oxford  does  not  think  it  desirable  to  establish  the 
Chair,  I  fancy  it  is  very  likely  our  offer  may  be  then  trans- 
ferred to  Cambridge  ;  but  this  is  at  present  uncertain. 

[These  efforts  in  the  higher  interests  of  science  as  applied 
to  agriculture  having  failed.  Miss  Ormerod,  in  her  Last  Will 
mid  Testament,  bequeathed,  out  of  her  ample  means,  a  sum 
of  ;£5,ooo  to  the  University  Court  of  the  University  of  Edin- 
burgh, ''  upon  trust  for  the  benefit  of  that  University."] 

December  6,  1897. 

I  thank  you  very  much  for  your  two  Entomological 
Reports  lately  received.  I  want  to  read  your  observations 
on  "  Hair-worms  "  carefully  as  soon  as  I  can  get  time,  for 
these  creatures  come,  I  think,  as  regularly  as  the  summer. 

You  will  perhaps  have  seen  the  turmoil  that  the  Sparrow- 
lovers  raised,  and  the  floods  of  abuse  they  bestowed  upon 
me.  But  it  advertised '  the  leaflet  beautifully,  and  I  could 
hardly  print  at  first  quickly  enough  to  keep  up  to  the 
demand.  Our  Royal  Horticultural  Society  has  asked  leave 
to  reprint  the  Sparrow  leaflet  in  their  Journal,  which 
gratifies  me  much. 

'January  21,  1898. 

I  think    you    will    be    pleased    to    know   that   I   am   in 

16 


226  LETTERS   TO    DR.    FLETCHER     [Chap.  xx. 

most  pleasant  co-operation  with  the  Duke  of  Bedford's 
staff  at  the  Woburn  Experimental  Fruit-ground  as  to 
endeavouring  to  find  some  way  to  lessen  presence  of 
Phytoptus  (mite  galls),  on  black-currants.  We  are  going  to 
try  grafting  on  species  which  are  not  affected,  for  one  thing ; 
after  I  have  been  trying  for  I  do  not  know  how  long  to  get 
growers  to  consider  having  their  bushes  in  line,  with  other 
crops  between,  I  hear  to-day  from  Woburn  that  it  appears 
as  if  those  which  had  been  grown  that  way  were  much 
the  freest  from  attack. 

February  i6,  1898. 
We  are  having  an  extraordinarily  mild  winter,  and  vegeta- 
tion is  said  in  some  places  to  be  one  or  two  months  over- 
forward.  Of  course  insects  are  plying  their  trades  heartily 
underground,  but  (so  far)  I  do  not  see  any  difference  in 
amount  of  above  -  ground  appearances.  If  this  is  so 
generally,  would  it  be  too  far-fetched  an  idea  to  think 
it  was  a  still  further  confirmation  of  hibernation  being 
constitutional,  not  an  effect  of  weather  ?  The  underground 
workers  that  are  sent  me  are  larval  ^'eaters"  when  not 
frozen  torpid  ;  also  Tylenchus  devastatrix  (eel-worm)  is, 
I  believe,  making  wild  work  with  clover,  which  is  popularly 
attributed  to  Sitones  (Pea  weevil)  larvae.  I  found  the  little 
eel-worm  (fig.  47)  in  quantities  in  abortive  shoots  of  "  stem- 
sick  "  clover  sent  me,  and  I  am  giving  warning  about  it. 

January  7,  1900. 

I  am  very  much  gratified  that  you  approve  of  the  Index 
to  my  Annual  Reports.  You  will  believe  that  it  was  a 
weary  work  to  make  up  our  minds  what  arrangement  would 
be  desirable.  The  time  and  sight  that  I  worse  than  wasted 
on  it  was  incredible,  for,  I  believe,  I  really  complicated 
matters  very  much,  and  doctor,  and  business  manager  (Mr. 
T.  P.  Newman)  spoke  so  seriously  that  I  left  off  meddling, 
and  I  think  Mr.  Newstead  did  the  work  well. 

I  now  very  gladly  forward  a  copy  by  book-post,  and 
I  should  be  only  too  pleased  to  send  any  copies  that  may 
be  desired.  My  hope  is  that  besides  being  just  a  paged 
reference  list,  it  may  stand  for  a  sort  of  up-to-date  '^catalogue 
raisonne"  of  British  Economic  Insett  attacks. 

June  12,  1900. 

I  have  owed  you  an  answer  to  your  kind  letter  so  long 
that  on  receipt  this  evening  of  your  very  valuable  pamphlet, 
which  I  am  delighted  to  possess,  I  sit  down  at  once  to  write. 

I  promise  myself  a  great  deal  of  information  from  your 
''  Recent  Additions,"  which  is  obviously  of  quite  exceptional 


1895.]  BOOK    ON    FOREST   INSECTS  227 

value.  What  you  say  of  the  number  of  injurious  insects 
being  greater,  as  well  as  the  number  of  species,  is  very 
interesting.  I  am  hoping  to  utilise  the  reports  of  forest 
insects  which  have  been  sent  me  up  to  date,  in  co-operation 
with  Dr.  R.  Stewart  MacDougall,  the  consulting  Entomo- 
logist of  the  Highland  and  Agricultural  Society  of  Scotland. 
I  have  much  information  scattered  in  my  Annual  Reports, 
but  I  have  not  strength  to  work  it  and  attend  at  the  same 
time  (as  I  wish  to  do)  to  regular  application,  so  we  are 
thinking  that,  as  a  "  Textbook  of  Forestry  "  is  much  needed 
for  University  use,  we  might  work  together  ;  that  is.  Dr. 
MacDougall  to  take  the  heavy  scientific  part,  as  his  engage- 
ments allow,  and  I  to  add  what  I  can  to  the  entomological 
notes  which  he  has  been  collecting  for  years,  and  also  give 
the  figures.  I  should  like  this  collaboration  very  much.  Mr. 
Robert  Wallace,  the  Professor  of  Agriculture  in  the  Edin- 
burgh University  (an  old  friend  of  mine),  is  a  very  kind 
ally,  and  now  I  do  not  feel  so  very  lonely  in  my  work.  By 
parcel  post  (posted  with  this  letter)  I  am  sending  a  photo  of 
myself,  taken  in  Doctor's  robes,  for  your  kind  acceptance ;  I 
hope  you  will  approve  of  the  appearance  of  your  old  friend 
in  her  new  dress  !  With  very  kind  remembrances  and  good 
wishes,  pray  believe  me,  ever  sincerely  yours, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod,  LL.D. 

To  the  Rev.  Dr.  C.  J.  S.  Bethune,  Editor  of  "  The 
Canadian  Entomologist." 

TORRINGTON    HoUSE,   St.  AlBANS,    ENGLAND, 

April  I,  1895. 

My  dear  Mr.  Bethune, —  My  sister  and  myself  were 
indeed  grieved  and  shocked  to  see  from  the  papers  you 
kindly  sent  (received  yesterday  morning)  what  a  disaster 
had  happened.!  What  a  mercy  that  all  the  boys  were  saved ! 
The  order  and  promptness  speak  volumes  for  the  spirit  of 
obedience  and  discipline — and  we  have  been  reading  the 
whole  history  with  the  greatest  sympathy  and  admiration. 
Poor  boys  —  I  feel  so  sorry  for  them  —  running  out  into 
the  cold,  to  watch  their  pet  collections  and  treasures 
burning  ! 

I  gather  that  for  building  purposes  you  are  fairly  insured, 
but  will  you  let  my  sister  and  myself  try  to  replace  what  we 

"  This  reference  is  to  the  destruction  by  fire  of  the  main  building  of 
Trinity  College  School,  Port  Hope,  Canada,  of  which  Mr.  Bethune  was 
Head  Master  for  a  period  of  29  years  ending  1899. 


228  LETTERS  TO    DR.    BETHUNE      [Chap.  xx. 

can  of  our  own  books  and  drawings  ?  We  are  writing  up  to 
Messrs.  Johnston  to  ask  how  best  to  forward  my  sister's  and 
my  five  sets  of  Insect  diagrams,  which  were  published  by 
our  Royal  Agricultural  Society.  When  we  learn,  she  is  going 
to  have  them  forwarded,  and  hopes  you  will  kindly  accept 
them  as  a  little  token  of  her  great  sympathy.  By  this  post 
I  am  sending,  in  two  book-post  parcels,  my  Manual  (2nd 
edit.),  '^  Cobham  Journals,"  ^  and  Annual  Reports,  vols. 
13,  14,  15,  16,  18.  These  I  have  here,  and  I  am  going  to 
write  to  my  printers  to  forward  some  more  to  try  and  make 
up  the  set.  Kindly  accept  these,  and  please  excuse  the 
''Cobham  Journals"  not  being  absolutely  new.  But  it  has 
long  been  out  of  print  and  I  secured  a  presentation  copy 
which  was  offered  for  sale  and  had  it  bound,  and  put  a  strip 
of  paper  to  hide  what  might  be  on  the  title-page. 

Mr.  Fletcher  is  my  chief  Canadian  correspondent,  and  it 
is  a  great  delight  when  I  get  a  letter  from  him. 

You  will  not  have  time  at  present  to  think  of  entomo- 
logical matters,  but  we  were  desirous  to  assure  you  as  soon 
as  possible  of  our  great  sympathy  in  your  trouble.  With  my 
very  kind  regards  to  yourself  and  Mrs.  Bethune,  in  which 
my  sister  begs  to  join  me. 

June  7,  1897. 

I  was  very  much  pleased  to  see  your  handwriting  again  a 
short  time  ago — and  a  little  while  before  exceedingly  grati- 
fied with  the  long  kind  review.  You,  living  among  so  many 
friends  and  colleagues  in  work,  can  hardly  appreciate  how 
very  greatly  indeed  I  value  such  kind  encouragement. 

Your  beautiful  letter  was  a  great  support  and  comfort  to 
me  in  my  loss  last  year,^  and  now  my  health  is  fairly  estab- 
lished again.  I  had  great  trouble  for  many  weeks,  some 
months  rather,  from  some  very  troublesome  disturbance  of 
sight,  but  I  did  as  well  as  I  could,  and  when  circumstances 
allowed,  I  got  one  of  our  best  London  oculists  to  come  and 
see  what  was  amiss.  To  my  great  joy  he  told  me  that  each 
of  my  eyes  individually  was  in  excellent  order,  but  there  was 
some  such  difference  in  their  action  that  some  special  glasses 
were  needed,  and  I  find  great  comfort  from  them.  He  said 
he  wondered  how  I  had  been  able  to  work. 

Just  now  Alfalfa  (lucerne),  infested  with  locusts  is  coming 
in  from  Buenos  Aires,  and  one  of  my  correspondents 
found  his  horses  so  ill  after  feeding  on  the  infested  lucerne, 
that  I  sent  a  copy  of  his  notes  to  our  ''  Live  Stock  Journal." 

^  Containing  Miss  Ormerod's  Meteorological  Observations. 
'  The  death  of  her  sister  Georgiana. 


1898.] 


LOCUSTS   AND    ORCHARD    PESTS 


22() 


One  of  the  three  animals  was  reported  to  appear  to  suffer 
from  coHc;  another  recovered  when  bran  was  substituted 
for  the  locust-infested  hay.  The  third  I  should  con- 
jecture was  very  ill  when  I  heard.  But  as  I  know  nothing 
of  veterinary  matters,  I  thought  it  was  but  right  to  send 
the  notes  on,  with  a  kind  of  apology.  The  locusts  are  of  the 
South  American  migratory  kind — Schistocerca  paranensis. 
Pretty  creatures — even  all  flattened  out.  My  correspondent 
sent  me  about  120  of  them. 

July  20,  1898. 
I   am   working  now  on  what   I    hope   to    bring   out    in 
the  autumn  as  a  good  thick   volume,   called,  ^^  Handbook 


Locust  with  wings  spread  :  tip  of  male  abdomen  to  the  right,  and  of 
female  abdomen  to  the  left,     (After  Conil,  but  reduced  ^.) 


FIG.  55. 


-SOUTH   AMERICAN   MIGRATORY   LOCUST,   SCHISTOCERCA 
PARENENSIS  (MALE). 


From  Lawrence  Bruner's  Locust  Investigation  Commission  Report, 
Buenos  Aires, 


of  Insects  Injurious  to  Orchard  and  Bush  Fruits,  with 
means  of  Prevention  and  Remedy/'  very  fully  illustrated. 
I  am  trying  to  include  all  the  attacks  of  any  real  impor- 
tance of  which  observations  have  been  sent  to  me  in  the 
past  twenty-one  years,  and  though  I  give  these  from 
British  observations  to  a  great  extent,  I  am  trying  to  bring 
them  all  up  to  date.     I  hope  you  approve  of  the  idea.     Our 


230  LETTERS   TO    DR.    BETHUNE      [Chap.  xx. 

fruit  industry  is  increasing  so  much,  that  more  information 
is  needed  for  growers ;  but  I  do  not  feel  sure  I  should  have 
had  courage  to  begin  it,  if  some  one  had  not  written  to  me 
that  he  purposed  bringing  out  a  book  on  insect  pests,  and 
would  like  the  use  of  my  figures  to  illustrate  it !  It  oc- 
curred to  me  that  when  he  was  about  it  he  might  like  my 
letterpress  also  !  So  I  have  set  to  work  and  I  have  got  to 
about  p.  224. 

There  are  more  of  the  rarer  attacks  about  than  usual 
this  year — Atomaria  linearis  at  mangolds,  for  instance. 
This  morning  I  heard  from  Messrs.  Laxton,  of  Bedford, 
that  they  have  gained  a  complete  victory  over  that  destruc- 
tive pest,  the  Strawberry  ground  beetle,  or  beetles,  I  should 
say  (in  this  instance  cockchafers,  fig.  58).  They  bought  a 
multitude  of  pudding  basins  and  sunk  them  in  the  straw- 
berry beds,  baited  with  sugar  and  water,  and  tempting 
solids,  and  the  beetles  were  caught  in  hosts,  sometimes  by 


Magnified  ;  natural  length,  one  twenty-fourth  of  an  inch. 
(After  Taschenberg.) 

FIG.   56. — PIGMY  MANGOLD   BEETLE,   ATOMARIA  LINEARIS,   STEPHENS. 


the    half  basin  full.     I  think  this  is  real  good   news   for 
strawberry  growers. 

I  wish  I  knew  better  how  to  manage  my  work.  I  do  not 
think  I  should  have  any  difficulty  in  keeping  the  real  work 
in  hand,  but  there  is  so  much  correspondence  on  subjects 
which,  indeed,  one  can  hardly  call  even  allied,  and  yet  I 
suppose  one  should  return  a  reply,  and  that  adds  uselessly 
to  the  work.     How  well  you  must  know  this  sort  of  thing  ! 

I  was  grieved  at  the  loss  of  our  kind  Dr.  Lintner,^  and 
I  saw  my  good  friend  Mr.  T.  P.  Newman  about  some  not 
wholly  inadequate  notice  being  inserted  in  the  ^*  Ento- 
mologist." I  could  from  my  heart  record  his  exceeding 
kindness  to  his  weaker  brethren. 

July  28,  1899. 

Your  very  kind  letter  to  me  of  a  few  weeks  back  was  a 
sincere  grief  to  me  in  its  information  of  your  abiding  sorrow 
under  the   heavy  affliction  with  which  it  has  pleased  our 

'  State  Entomologist  of  New  York. 


1899]    MANGOLD  BEETLE  AND  SPINACH  MOTH     231 

Father  to  visit  you.i  I  scarcely  know  how  to  write  to  you, 
for  it  would  be  presumptuous  in  me  to  endeavour  to  enter  to 
you  on  the  only  sources  of  consolation,  which,  in  my  own 
great  loss,  you  placed  so  comfortably  before  me ;  but,  believe 
me,  I  earnestly  sympathise  in  your  affliction,  and  earnestly 
hope  that  any  arrangement  you  make  may  be  to  your 
comfort.  I  am  much  pleased  to  see  in  the  paper  of  which 
you  have  kindly  sent  me  a  copy,  that  great  care  is  being 
taken,  that,  so  far  as  may  be,  you  shall  have  a  worthy  suc- 
cessor in  the  office  you  have  so  honourably  held  for  so 
many  years  [Head  Master  of  Trinity  College  School,  Port 
Hope]. 
I  do  not  often   hear  from  Canada,  for   Dr.  Fletcher  is 


From  Newman's  "British  Moths,"  p.  193. 

FIG.   57.— "  SPINACH   MOTH,"   CIDARIA  DOTATA,   LINN. 

SO  occupied  and  has  to  move  about  so  much,  that  he  has 
not  time  to  give  me  the  bits  of  entomological  novelties  he 
used  to  form  most  interesting  letters  with.  I  am  trying  this 
season  to  get  my  applicants  to  fill  up  their  observations  to 
some  degree.  Rather  an  undertaking  this,  you  will  believe  1 
But  I  am  getting  a  few  new  (or  rather  little  brought  for- 
ward) infestations. 

The  Cidaria  dotata,  sometimes  called  the  "  Spinach 
moth  "  is,  I  think,  of  interest  at  present. 

I  am  sure  that  when  you  move  to  a  new  home  you 
will  kindly  let  me  have  your  address,  for  I  should  be  very 
sorry  not  to  be  allowed  to  still  look  forward  to  our  occa- 
sional interchange  of  pleasant  friendly  communications,  and 
with  my  very  kind  remembrances  and  most  sincere  good 
wishes,  pray  believe  me,  most  sincerely  yours, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 

'  Mrs.  Bethune  was  killed  in  a  carriage  accident  in  July,  1898. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

LETTERS  TO  DRS.  RITZEMA  BOS,  SCHOYEN,  REUTER  AND 
LOUNSBURY  AND  MR.  FULLER 

Eel-worms — Ladybirds — Wheat  midges — Resignation  from  the  Royal  Agri- 
cultural Society — Wasps — Study  of  Norwegian  and  Swedish — Gall  mites 
— Boot  beetles — Experience  of  publishing. 

Representative  letters  to  five  foreign  and  colonial  scientific 
entomologists  have  been  gathered  into  this  chapter,  among 
other  reasons  to  show  the  diversity  of  Miss  Ormerod's 
work,  carried  on  in  close  touch  and  in  the  most  agreeable 
relations,  with  the  highest  wide-world  authorities  on  various 
specialised  branches  of  her  subject. 

To  Professor  J.  Ritzema  Bos,  Amsterdam, 

TORRINGTON    HoUSE,  St.  AlBANS,  ENGLAND, 

July  27,  1893. 

Dear  Dr.  Ritzema  Bos, — I  have  not  written  to  you  for 
a  long  time,  partly  because  I  had  nothing  of  sufficient 
importance  to  allow  me  to  submit  it  to  you,  but  also  because 
both  my  sister  and  myself  had  rather  severe  illnesses. 

Enclosed  I  beg  to  send  you  some  pieces  of  potato, 
which  I  think  it  is  just  possible  may  be  infested  by  (or  at 
least  have  now)  some  slight  presence  of  Tylenchus  devasta- 
trix  (eel-worm,  fig.  47).  I  received  several  tubers  this 
morning  from  near  Helensburgh,  in  Dumbartonshire,  Scot- 
land. Mr.  Robert  Howie,  the  sender,  writes  me  that  a  large 
field  recently  dug  up  by  him  was  very  much  damaged  by 
being  badly  ^^ scabbed"  in  the  same  way  as  the  samples  sent. 
But,  when  I  came  to  examine  the  so-called  *^ scabbed"  parts 
after  washing,  the  surface  for  the  most  part  looked  to  me 
more  as  if  it  had  been  gnawed  by  some  larvae,  than  if  it  were 
a  diseased  state  of  coat.     The  skin  of  the  potato  is  often 

left  overhanging.     I  was  going  to  suggest  to  Mr.  Howie  that 

232 


1893. 


EEL-WORMS  AND   COCKCHAFER 


233 


he  should  search  iovAgrotis  larvae,  or  Melolontha  (Cockchafer), 
grubs,  but  examining  further  at  the  end  of  one  or  two 
tubers,  where  the  skin  was  still  in  its  natural  state,  excepting 
small  patches  of  what  was  as  yet  only  a  slight  discoloured 
roughness,  I  found  a  few  eel-worms.  They  were  so  few 
that  they  evaded  me  when  using  the  higher  power,  but  in 
one  instance  I  thought  I  detected  a  bulb  near  the  head  end. 
I  am  afraid  I  may  be  taking  up  your  time  with  what  is  of 
no  importance;  still  I  thought  I  should  like  to  send  you 
some  pieces,  and  if  the  attack  is  one  of  any  interest  I  would 
gladly  forward  more.  The  eel-worms  I  have  seen  are  all 
anguilliform,  the  largest  was  about  as  long  or  longer  than  the 
largest  T,  devastatrix  I  have  seen,  the  others  were  smaller. 
Mr.  Rochford  has  been  carrying  on  with  great  care  and  pre- 
cision his  experiments  as  to  poisoning  Heterodera  radicicola 
(root-knott  eel- worms,  fig.  49).     He  has  tried  about  forty 


Larva,  pupa,  and  antenna  of  male  c?  and  female  ?  . 

FIG.  58.— COCKCHAFER,   MELOLONTHA    VULGARIS,   FAB. 

different  applications — noting  the  amount  given  and  the  effect 
on  the  eel-worms  and  the  plants.  I  certainly  hope  that  a  few 
will  show  successful  results,  but  he  is  very  careful,  and  is  now 
going  over  his  series  of  experiments  a  second  time,  that  he 
may  be  quite  certain  before  coming  forward  with  statements 
of  effects.  As  soon  as  I  know  anything  of  interest  I  shall 
be  very  glad  to  be  allowed  to  tell  you ;  Mr.  Rochford 
has  given  me  permission.  I  do  not  know  as  yet  whether 
he  will  bring  forward  his  results  himself,  or  leave  it  to  me  to 
do.  Pray  believe  me,  with  best  thanks  for  all  the  kind 
assistance  you  give  me. 

September  7,  1893. 
As  I  think  that  you  have  either  returned  home,  or  will 
soon  be  returning,  I  now  (with  your  kind  permission)  send 


234 


LETTERS   TO    DR.    RITZEMA    BOS    [Chap.  xxi. 


a  few  more  of  the  ^^  scabbed  "  potatoes,  which  it  seemed 
possible  might  be  infested  by  Tylenchus  devastatrix.  If  it 
should  be  convenient  to  you  at  your  best  leisure  to  make 
any  examination,  and  to  let  me  know  results,  I  am  sure  I 
need  not  say  how  acceptable  your  information  would  be, 
not  only  to  myself,  but  to  many  interested  in  the  cause  of 
this  external  deformity.  I  send  the  potatoes  in  a  little 
tin  box  by  parcel  post.  Recently  I  have  had  rather  an 
interesting  observation  of  the  little  black,  somewhat  pubes- 
cent, ^'ladybird"  beetle,  Sc^'mnws  minimus,  as  a  feeder  on 
Red-spider,  Tetranychiis  telarius.  I  have  not  been  able  to 
find  any  account  of  its  life  history,  so  I  have  had  great 
pleasure  in  watching  its  progress  from  larval  to  imago  state. 
It   seems  to  me  to  be  greedily  carnivorous  ;   after  a   few 


I,  Cluster  of  eggs  ;  2,  egg,  magnified  ;  3,  grub,  magnified  ;  4,  line 
showing  natural  length  ;  5  and  6,  pupae  ;  7  and  8,  2-spotted  lady-bird, 
Coccinella  bipunctata,  L.  (=  disfar),  and  dark  variety  ;  9,  7-spottcd  lady- 
bird, C.  septcmpmictata,  L.,  like  in  form  but  much  larger  than  the  black 
lady-bird. 

FIG.  59. — LADY-BIRDS,   COCCINELLJDM. 

hours'  want  of  food  during  their  journey  to  me,  the  larvae 
set  to  work  to  feed  on  what  they  could  pick  up  on  the  back 
of  a  leaf  infested  by  red  spider,  as  eagerly  as  sheep  on  fresh 
grass ;  and  as  I  found  one  day  only  a  single  larva  remaining 
of  three  or  four  confined  together,  I  suspect  it  was  this 
survivor  who  had  reduced  his  brethren  to  the  small  remains 
which  were  all  I  found.  The  final  changes  were  rapid,  for 
the  above  happened  on  August  28th,  and  shortly  after  it  had 
pupated,  and  yesterday  I  found  the  little  black  ladybird 
in  most  active  condition. 

I  have  heard  nothing  further  at  present  from  Mr.  Roch- 
ford  about  his  Heterodera  experiments.  I  think  I  must 
remind  him  soon  that  he  kindly  promised  me  a  report. 


894/ 


LADY-BIRDS   AND   CENTIPEDES 


235 


May  14,  1894. 
I  have  been  quite  sorry  for  a  long  time  that  I  have  had 
no  specimens  which  would  be  of  interest  to  you.  I  was 
afraid  you  might  think  I  was  not  attending  to  these  subjects, 
but  now  I  have  received  a  cucumber  root  quite  beset  with 
galls,  of  which  I  forward  you  a  portion.  It  is  from  a 
nursery  gardener  at  Rhyl,  in  Flintshire,  North  Wales,  where 
they  are  much  troubled  by  cucumber  and  tomato  plants 
dying,  some  of  both  kinds  having  the  ^'  roots  covered  with 
galls  but  some  have  not."  Messrs.  Maxwell  and  Dalgliesh 
sent  me  some  of  the  roots  without  galls,  from  plants  that 
were  nearly  dead,  but  I  could  not  discover  the  cause  of  the 
failure  of  these.  On  such  inefficient  examination  as  I 
make,  I  find  in  the  soft  pulpy  centre  of  the  larger  galls 
some   anguilliform   nematodes,   which    I    conjecture  to  be 


I,  Geophilus  longicornis ;  2,  LWiohius  forficatus,  "  thirty-foot 
3,  head  of  Lithobius  forficatus,  magnified, 

FIG.   60.— LONG-HORNED   CENTIPEDES. 


males,  or  larvae,  of  the  H,  radicicola,  but  so  far  as  I  searched 
I  did  not  find  females ;  there  were  a  fair  number  of  eggs. 
On  cutting  the  pieces  of  plant  into  fragments  for  packing  I 
find  the  stem  just  about  the  ground-level  much  beset  with 
diseased  growth.  I  have  not,  however,  delayed  to  try  to 
examine  this,  for  I  might  be  only  wasting  specimens. 
Messrs.  M.  and  D.  have  five  houses  fifty  yards  long  each, 
so  the  infestation  is  a  serious  trouble  to  them.  They  tell 
me  that  they  clear  out  all  the  soil  each  year,  and  bring 
fresh  soil  in.  It  '^is  rich  alluvial  soil."  They  have  tried 
lime,  soot,  and  nitrate  of  soda  without  effect,  and  I  should 
certainly  say  that  something  requires  alteration  for  the  exter- 
mination even  of  an  infestation  much  more  easily  dealt  with  ; 
for  they  are  troubled  by  millepedes  (fig.  27),  and  also  there 


236  LETTERS  TO   DR.    RITZEMA   BOS    [Chap.  xxi. 

are  such  great  numbers  of  Geophilus  (centipedes),  that  there 
must,  I  think,  be  something  amiss  whether  these  Hve  chiefly 
on  vegetable  matter  or  on  small  animal  vermin. 

Some  inquiry  about  H.  radicicola  has  been  sent  to  me 
from  Glen  St.  Mary,  Florida,  U.S.A.,  but  no  new  information. 

On  Saturday,  Professor  Ainsworth-Davis  wrote  to  ask  me 
to  write  a  preface  to  his  translation  of  your  "Zoologie," 
and  it  will  gratify  me  very  much  indeed  to  prepare  such  a 
one  as  I  hope  may  please  you.  Your  book  will  be  a  very 
valuable  addition  to  our  educational  series,  and  I  shall  like 
very  much  to  be  permitted  thus  to  appear  in  colleagueship. 

October  3,  1894. 

This  matter  of  the  ?  Tylenchus  devastatrix  in  the  cortex 
seems  to  me  most  perplexingly  curious.  I  cannot  venture 
to  form  an  opinion  ;  I  have  not  the  knowledge  requisite,  but 
looking  at  these  Tylenchi  being  smaller  than  T,  devastatrix  is 
customarily  known  to  be,  and  also  their  occurring  in  a 
locality  where  devastatrix  is  not  known,  the  idea  just  floats 
in  my  mind  whether  they  may  be  <^  (males)  or,  alternatively, 
larval  Heterodera  schachtii  {^'  Beet-root"  eel-worm). 

But  perhaps  I  am  almost  wrong  in  taking  up  your  time 
with  a  mere  idea,  as  you  work  on  definite  proof,  and 
though  the  shape  of  those  I  mentioned  to  you  much 
resembled  your  larval  H.  schachtii,  I  had  not  sufticiently 
high  powers  to  be  sure  of  the  species.  I  have  been  trying 
to  make  out  whether  there  is  ever  a  definitely  formed 
opening  for  the  exit  of  the  contents  of  the  $  (female) 
schachtii.  In  examining  one  specimen  I  found  a  circular 
orifice  with  what  appeared  to  me  a  regularly  formed  edge — 
not  a  merely  torn  one.  On  putting  this  in  glycerine  under 
a  thin  cover-glass,  and  very  lightly  pressing  it,  there  first 
came  out  a  number  of  little  eel-worms,  without  disturbing 
the  condition  of  the  orifice.  I  was,  however,  so  desirous 
that  my  sister  should  see  the  interesting  sight  that  I  called 
her,  and  when  I  looked  again  perhaps  in  a  couple  of 
minutes,  the  regularity  was  gone  ;  the  outer  skin — the  skin 
rather  of  the  female — was  cracking  irregularly  from  the 
aperture  and  giving  exit  to  a  mixed  collection  of  eggs  and 
wormlets.  I  have  tried  to  find  another  instance  but  with- 
out success.  Very  many  thanks  to  you  for  also  sparing 
time  to  explain  to  me  the  meaning  of  the  word 
^^  schaumerde."  ^     Now    I    quite   understand   and  am  very 

*  "  SchaGmerde,"  is  a  product  of  the  fabrication  of  sugar,  which  con- 
tains the  mineral  parts,  the  salts,  of  the  sugar  beet.  Therefore  it  is 
good  for  manuring  this  crop.     (J.  R.  B.) 


1892.]  EEL-WORMS   AND    ROVE-BEETLES  237 

glad  to  know  about  it.  Thank  you  also  for  your  kind  per- 
mission to  use  some  of  your  figures  of  schachtii. 

I  should  very  much  like  to  have  some  specimens  of  the 
hop-growth  called  ''  nettle-headed,"  but  I  have  only 
received  a  very  few  leaves,  in  which  I  did  not  see  anything 
amiss. 

I  received  a  specimen  (though  I  suppose  this  is  not  rare) 
of  the  large  Coccinella  ocellata  (Eyed  lady-bird).  What  a 
pretty  creature  it  is  !     I  had  never  seen  it  before. 

Also  from  a  North  British  correspondent  I  received  a 
number  of  what  I  do  not  think  could  be  other  than  larvae 
of  one  of  the  Staphylinidcc,  w^hich  were  doing  mischief  by 
feeding  in  turnips  or  their  flower  stems  or  leafstalks.  They 
looked  grey  to  the  unassisted  eye  ;  magnified,  they  were 
whitish  with  grey  patches  along  the  back,  and  they  much 
resembled  the  fig.  by  Professor  Westwood  (see  p.  167  of 
vol.  i.  of  his  ^'Classification  of  Insects"),  of  which  I  give  a 


H.K 
Natural  size  and  magnified, 

FIG.  61.— EYED   LADY-BIRD,   COCCINELLA   OCELLATA. 

rough  tracing  of  the  magnified  larva  and  line  showing 
natural  size.  Professor  Westwood  found  numbers  of  these 
larvae  feeding  on  turnips,  but,  unfortunately,  he  does  not 
give  even  the  generic  name.  They  are  obviously  very 
destructive,  that  is,  those  sent  me. 

I  have  been  most  carefully  studying  your  observations  on 
schachtii  in  oats  with  great  pleasure  and  profit.     With  kind 
regards  and  ever  with  many  thanks,  believe  me. 
Yours  very  truly, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 

To  Dr.  IV.  M.  Schoyen,  State  Entomologist,  Christiania. 

TORRINGTON    HoUSE,   St.   AlBANS,    ENGLAND, 

August  23,  1892. 
Dear  Sir, — I  have  long  been  in  your  debt  for  grateful 
acknowledgment  of  your  kind  thought  in  sending  me  from 


238  LETTERS  TO    DR.   SCHOYEN       [Chap.  xxi. 

time  to  time  copies  of  your  valuable  pamphlets,  and  also  of 
your  portrait,  which  I  have  much  pleasure  in  adding  to  my 
collection  of  portraits  of  the  leading  entomologists  of  the 
world.  But  I  trust  you  will  forgive  my  long  silence 
because  for  a  long  time  (that  is,  since  last  autumn)  until 
about  three  weeks  ago,  I  have  been  a  great  sufferer,  and  it 
has  been  with  difficulty  I  have  been  able  to  keep  up  to  work. 

May  I  ask  your  kind  acceptance  of  my  fifteenth  Report  (ac- 
companying by  book  post),  and  a  little  brochure  I  recently 
arranged  by  special  request ;  also  with  them  may  I  place  a 
copy  of  my  portrait,  recently  taken,  in  your  hands  ?  I  value 
your  pamphlets  which  you  kindly  send  me,  much  ;  but, 
unfortunately,  I  have  never  been  able  to  master  your 
language — so  when  I  have  read  the  title,  if  it  be  a  subject 
bearing  specially  on  my  own  work,  I  get  help  from  a 
linguist  to  enable  me  to  benefit.  Trusting  that  for  the 
reasons  given  you  will  pardon  my  long  silence. 

October  25,  1893. 

I  thank  you  very  much  for  being  so  good  as  to  tell  me  of 
the  appearance  of  the  Cecidomyia  destructor  (Hessian  fly,  fig. 
15)  in  Norway.  This  observation  of  the  further  spread  of  this 
troublesome  barley  pest  is  very  interesting  to  me,  and  I  am 
also  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  letting  me  have  the  charac- 
teristic specimens  of  puparia.  There  is  no  doubt  that  these 
are  the  chrysalis  cases  (the  ^'  flax-seeds,"  as  we  call  them 
here)  of  the  Hessian  fly.  I  at  once  wrote  to  two  friends  to 
endeavour  to  procure  the  specimens  you  name,  and  it 
would  have  been  a  great  pleasure  to  me  to  send  them  at 
once,  but  I  much  doubt  whether  I  shall  be  able  to  procure 
any  of  the  Wheat  midge,  C.  tritici ;  I  have  not  got  any  my- 
self, nor  have  my  two  colleagues  so  far  as  they  see. 

About  the  Hessian  fly,  I  have  been  more  successful.  I 
have  secured  some  specimens  well  put  up  for  the  micros- 
cope. It  is  too  late  this  evening  to  repack  them  properly, 
but  I  hope  to  send  you  three  slides  to-morrow  in  a 
registered  letter,  of  which,  with  very  great  pleasure,  I  beg 
your  kind  acceptance.  Should  they  not  reach  you  in 
proper  condition,  you  will  oblige  me  by  letting  me  know, 
that  I  may  try  to  replace  them.  I  should  hope  that  the 
thoroughly  well-advised  treatment  which  you  are 
endeavouring  to  get  carried  out  in  the  infested  district 
will  be  successful.  I  have  great  confidence  in  the  efficacy 
of  destroying  the  puparia  in  the  screenings  or  siftings  ;  and 
ploughing  so  as  to  turn  down  the  "flax-seeds"  also  quite 
certainly  answers  well. 


1893-] 


HESSIAN    FLY   AND   WHEAT    MIDGE 


239 


One  special  insect  trouble  during  the  past  season  in  this 
country  has  been  an  unusual  prevalence  of  wasps,  Vespidce, 
of  various  species.  They  caused  much  injury  and  loss  by 
destroying  fruit,  and  also  were  very  troublesome  by  attack- 
ing horses  ploughing,  if  their  nests  were  turned  up.  I  hear 
that  they  were  also  troublesome  in  Holland,  and  in  the 
Hartz  districts  of  Germany.  Should  you  write  to  me,  I 
should  be  very  much  interested  to  know  whether  they  were 
also  unusually  plentiful  in  Norway. 


I,  6,  infested  floret  ;  2,  3,  larvae  ;  4,  5,  cased  larva  or  pupa,  natural 
size  and  magnified  ;  7,  8,  part  of  horns,  magnified  ;  9,  10,  wheat  midge  ; 
and  11-14,  ichneumon  parasites,  natural  size  and  magnified. 

FIG.  62. — WHEAT  MIDGE,   CECIDOMYIA    TRITICI. 

November  7,  1893. 

I  beg  to  offer  you  my  best  thanks  for  your  very  acceptable 
letter  of  the  31st  of  October.  Indeed,  I  am  greatly  obliged  to 
you  for  not  only  kindly  giving  me  your  own  information 
as  to  amount  of  wasp  presence  observed  in  the  past  season, 
but  also  the  translation  into  English  of  the  account  of  their 
great  appearance  at  Tromso  in  1883-4.  This  is  exceedingly 
interesting,  and  also  very  entertaining.  I  have  enjoyed 
reading  this  spirited  account  uncommonly,  and  I  shall  like 
very  much  to  add  it  (of  course  duly  acknowledged)  to  my 
paper  on  wasps  in  my  next  Annual  Report. 

[The  translation  appeared  as  follows  : — 

'^  In  the  years  1883-1884,  there  was  an  unusual  prevalence 


240  LETTER   TO    MR.   CONNOLD       [Chap.  xxi. 

of  them  in  the  Arctic  Norway,  especially  at  Tromsd  and 
other  islands  in  the  vicinity.  Mr.  ].  S.  Schneider,  Conserva- 
tor at  Tromso  Museum,  writes  in  the  Swedish  ^Entomologisk 
Tidskrift,'  1885,  pp.  148,  149,  about  this  matter  as  follows  : — 
*  Who  can  tell  all  the  tears  which  these  wicked  animals  have 
squeezed  from  the  poor  children,  or  the  swearings  which 
the  mowers  have  thrown  out,  the  half-shut  eyes,  and  the 
swollen  hands  and  cheeks  which  have  shown  forth  in  the 
autumn  months  of  these  two  years  ?  Perhaps  this  may 
appear  an  exaggeration,  but  it  comes,  however,  pretty  near 
the  truth.  They  built  their  nests  everywhere,  in  the  earth, 
in  stone  walls,  behind  the  wainscottings  of  the  houses,  under 
garden  benches,  on  the  trees ;  it  swarmed  with  wasps  on  all 
the  flowers  and  bushes,  the  windows  were  filled  with  them, 
they  crawled  on  the  plates  of  the  dining-tables,  licked  of  the 
dishes  with  preserves,  crawled  under  the  clothings,  and  in 
the  hair,  and  did  not  at  all  spare  the  ladies  !  When  one  was 
going  in  the  woods,  a  humming  warbling  was  heard,  which 
is  still  sounding  in  my  ears ;  wasps  everywhere,  it  was 
almost  a  despair,'  &c. 

'^  I  have  not  seen  anywhere  in  the  southern  districts  of 
our  country  the  wasps  so  exceedingly  numerous  as  they 
must  have  been  in  Tromso  in  the  said  years.  The  species 
occurring  here  are  :  Vespa  crabro,  media,  saxonica,  and  var. 
norvegicay  holsatica,  vulgaris,  germanica,  rufa,  and  Pseiido- 
vespa  austriaca."  (W.  M.  S.).] 

November  7,  1893  {continued). 

Now  I  have  much  pleasure  in  begging  your  acceptance 
of  a  few  pamphlets  sent  accompanying  by  book  post — three 
on  Hessian  fly  and  one  on  Paris-green.  Tw^o  of  the 
Hessian  fly  pamphlets  were  condensed  notes  regarding  its 
first  appearance  here,  the  other  a  report  in  full  of  the  com- 
munications of  my  correspondents.  I  wished  very  much 
to  send  you  a  similar  detailed  report  of  the  first  year's 
observations  of  this  Cecidomyia  destructor  (fig.  15)  in  Britain, 
but  as  yet  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  one  remaining. 
Every  year  since  the  first  appearance  of  this  infestation 
amongst  us,  I  have  received  some  amount  of  information 
as  to  its  greater  or  less  presence,  and  I  have  given,  so  far  as 
I  could,  my  best  attention  to  it.  If  it  should  happen  that 
there  is  any  point  on  which  you  would  wish  a  reply  to  any 
inquiries,  I  would  with  pleasure  do  my  best  to  answer  fully, 
and  would  think  myself  honoured,  as  well  as  be  very  much 
pleased  to  be  in  communication  with  you  on  the  above  sub- 
ject, or  any  other  point  of  injurious  insect  presence. 


1894.] 


SOCIAL  WASPS 


^41 


[On  the  subject  of  wasps,  Miss  Ormerod  wrote  to  Mr. 
Edward  Connold  on  January  15,  1894: — 

^'  I  am  very  glad  that  you  were  able  to  procure  my  late 
brother's  book  on  '^  Social  Wasps "  and  that  its  perusal 
gave  you  pleasure.  You  ask  me  how  the  combs  were 
removed  from  the  nests.  I  do  not  know  how  my 
brother  managed   it,   but   I    found   the   matter   very   easy, 


After  sketch  from  original  specimen  by  E.  A,  O,     Dimensions, 
8  in.  across  by  7^  in.  deep. 

FIG.  63.— NEST  OF  TREE  WASP,    VESPA   SYLVESTRIS. 


as  long  as  the  nests  had  been  so  recently  taken  from  out- 
of-door  localities,  that  the  paper  had  not  become  too  dry 
to  be  operated  on.  Indeed,  the  damp  condition  induced 
by  the  first  stages  of  the  very  nasty  state  that  combs  with 
dead  grubs  get  into,  rather  facilitated  work  than  otherwise. 

17 


H^  LETTERS  TO   DR.   SCHOYEN     [Chap.  xxl. 

The  first  thing  in  working  on  a  nest  of  any  size  was  to  get  a 
pair  of  scissors,  long  in  the  blades,  thin,  and  also  very  sharp. 
Then  carefully  make  a  clean  vertical  cut  through  the  paper- 
case  of  the  nest  from  the  entrance  below  nearly  to  the  top. 
Through  this  great  gash  I  had  no  difficulty  in  removing  the 
combs — so  to  say  (although  it  is  a  disagreeable  word) 
"eviscerating"  the  nest.  I  began  with  the  smallest  and 
lowest  comb.  Inserting  my  scissors  horizontally  I  snipped 
through  the  little  paper  pillars  by  which  it  was  connected 
with  the  comb  above  and  withdrew  it  in  a  very  convenient 
way,  with  fingers  or  forceps  (or  very  likely  by  help  of  the 
scissors)  through  the  opening.  Continuing  this  process  I 
do  not  remember  that  I  ever  failed  to  clear  out  the  comb 
successfully.  It  did  not  always  require  to  be  entirely  removed, 
if  I  recollect  rightl3^  I  think  sometimes  the  upper  comb 
did  not  require  removal.  When  all  was  cleared  out,  I  filled 
the  empty  paper  case  with  cotton  w^ool,  and  applying  plenty 
of  gum  to  this  below  the  slit,  I  very  gently  pressed  the 
paper  back  to  its  former  position,  and  if  the  work  had  been 
dexterously  done,  the  injury  did  not  show  much.  If  the 
paper  had  been  broken  of  course  the  damage  showed,  and 
it  was  requisite  to  be  careful  that  the  gum  or  adhesive  mix- 
ture used  for  keeping  the  cut  edges  in  their  places  did  not 
run  about.  Sometimes  where  circumstances  permitted,  I 
cut  a  little  aside  from  the  straight  line  in  places  so  as  to 
secure  an  uninjured  piece  of  a  layer  to  hide  part  of  the  slit. 
In  this  way  very  pretty  specimens  could  be  arranged,  show- 
ing both  nest  and  comb.  I  have  been  preparing  a  long 
paper  on  the  wasp  attack  of  last  year  for  my  next  Annual 
Report.  I  have  had  very  good  contributions,  and  hope  it 
may  be  liked. 

"  It  will  give  me  great  pleasure  to  attend  to  any  inquiry 
the  Hon.  Sec.  of  the  Museum  may  care  to  send  me  as  to 
starting  a  collection  of  pests  to  agriculture,  and  I  think  I 
might  be  able  to  help  with  suggestions  where  specimens 
are  procurable. 

"  Many  thanks  for  your  suggestion  as  to  membership,  but 
I  do  not  care  to  belong  to  more  Societies  than  I  can 
possibly  help,  so  I  hope  you  will  forgive  my  not  accepting 
your  kind  offer."] 

March  lo,  1898. 

Dear  Dr.  Schoyen, — In  reply  to  your  inquiry  whether 
any  measures  are  being  taken  in  this  country  to  prevent  the 
introduction  of  the  San  Jose  Scale,  Aspidiottisperniciosus,  I  am 
not  aware  of  any  such  measures  being  in  contemplation.     I 


1898.]  SAN    JOSE   SCALE  243 

have  not  heard  of  anything  of  the  kind  being  proposed,  nor 
have  I  seen  any  mention  in  our  newspapers  of  preventive 
measures  being  contemplated  in  regard  to  imports.  My 
own  impression  is  that  we  are  not  hkely  to  suffer  from  it. 
With  our  island  climate  (as  a  general  thing,  and  as  especially 
observed  by  Dr.  C.  V.  Riley)  the  injurious  insects  of  the 
Continent  of  America  rarely  establish  themselves  here, 
although  ours  adapt  themselves  to  the  American  Continental 
circumstances,  and  this  Scale  appears  to  be  remarkably 
susceptible  to  damp  and  cold.  The  Bulletin  by  Dr.  John 
B.  Smith,  Entomologist  of  the  New  Jersey  Experimental 
Station,  published  November  27,  1897,  says,  p.  6,  *^The 
Scale  does  best  with  us  in  dry,  warm  weather.  It  does 
not  like  dampness,  nor  shade,  and  will  die  out  in  a  cold, 
moist  locality.  Large  trees  with  dense  foliage  are  therefore 
least  troubled,  and  a  dense  mass  of  vegetation  shading  the 
ground  completely  will  be  infested  only  towards  the  tips  of 
the  twigs  or  branches  nearer  the  surface,  where  sunlight 
and  air  are  most  abundant."  I  greatly  hope,  therefore,  that 
even  if  this  injurious  attack  should  come,  that  it  will  not 
establish  itself  to  a  serious  extent,  as  shade  is  a  characteristic 
of  many  of  our  orchards. 

Our  chief  trouble  at  present  is  an  attack  of  eel-worms, 
Tylenchits  devastatriXy  on  red  clover,  Trifolium  pratense, 
causing  what  we  call  ^'Clover-stem  sickness."  I  never 
knew  the  attack  so  widely  prevalent  before.  But  I  hope 
that  with  the  measures  which  I  draw  attention  to  in  my 
recent  Annual  Report  we  may  do  some  good. 

March  11,  1898. 

Relatively  to  the  San  Jose  Scale,  I  find,  from  some  infor- 
mation received  this  morning,  that  Mr.  R.  Newstead,  Curator 
of  the  Grosvenor  Museum,  Chester,  has  lately  attended  by 
request  at  the  Board  of  Agriculture,  and  stated  that  this 
infestation  had  not  established  itself  in  any  way  in  this 
country.  Also  that  he  had  not  heard  of,  nor  had  he  seen 
any  instances  of  its  presence,  although  he  had  made  diligent 
search  for  it  at  Liverpool,  &c.  He  thinks  the  matter  is  a 
"scare,"  and  that  the  insect  is  not  likely  to  establish  itself 
here.  In  this  opinion  (the  document  before  me  states)  he 
is  supported  by  our  Entomological  Society.  Mr.  Newstead 
is,  I  believe,  excellently  qualified  to  form  an  opinion  on  the 
subject,  as  he  is  a  practical  Economic  Entomologist,  and  he 
has  also  made  the  Coccidcv  a  subject  of  minute  investigation. 
This  I  should  say  was  more  important  than  the  views  of  a 
meeting  of  our  Entomological  Society,  of  whom  few,  if  any 


244       LETTERS  TO    DR.    ENZIO   REUTER    [Chap.  xxi. 

(excepting  Mr.  Douglas),  have,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  studied 
Coccidce  to  an  extent  approaching  Mr.  Newstead's  observa- 
tions, and  have  no  special  bias  towards  applied  Entomology. 
The  above  will  perhaps  be  of  some  interest  to  you  as  the 
nearest  approach  I  am  able  to  make  to  a  reply  to  your 
inquiry,  and  I  beg  you  to  believe  me. 

Yours  truly, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 

To  Dr.  Enzio  ReiiteVy  Helsingfors,  Finland, 

TORRINGTON    HOUSE,   St.  AlBANS,   ENGLAND, 

October  15,  1894. 

Sir, — In  acknowledging  receipt  of  your  obliging  letter  of 
the  8th  of  October,  received  here  on  the  12th,  permit  me  to 
say  that  I  think  it  not  only  a  pleasure,  but  an  honour,  to  be 
in  communication  with  the  leading  Entomologists  who,  like 
yourself,  are  working  for  the  good  of  their  countries.  I 
thank  you  much  for  your  letter. 

First,  about  the  Cecidomyia  (Wheat  midge),  larvae  (fig.  62) 
on  the  Alopecurus  pratensis^  (Foxtail  grass),  I  cannot  remem- 
ber that  any  further  observations  were  sent  me  about  it,  nor 
have  I  noticed  anything  in  publications  which  come  to  my 
hands.  My  correspondents  often  send  me  specimens  and 
details  of  some  infestation  which  has  caught  their  attention, 
but  it  is  with  the  greatest  difficulty  in  many  instances  that  I 
can  induce  them  to  continue  their  observations  for  succes- 
sive seasons,  and  the  development  of  the  imagines  of  the 
Cecidomyice  from  the  early  condition  is  much  more  trouble 
than  they  care  to  take. 

By  book  post  accompanying  this  letter  I  forward  to  your 
kind  acceptance  a  copy  of  my  seventeenth  Report.  In  the 
pages  of  the  Report  I  have  placed  copies  of  various  leaflets. 
These,  you  will  see  at  a  glance,  are  not  at  all  scientific, 
but  intended  quite  for  popular  use  by  our  farmers,  therefore 
I  have  used  the  very  simplest  words  I  could. 

You  are  good  enough  to  offer  to  send  me  copies  of  some 
of  your  future  reports  in  connection  with  Economic  Ento- 
mology. If  you  can  spare  them  I  should  value  them  very 
much.  For  although  I  am  not  able  to  understand  more 
than  a  word  here  and  there,  yet  with  the  help  of  the 
dictionary  I  can  make  out  enough  to  see  whether  your 
information  is  applicable  to  the  conditions  here,  and  I  can 

*  This  species  described  by  me  later  under  the  name  Oligotrophus 
alopecuri,  n.  sp.  (Zwei  neue  Cecidomyinen,  Acta  Soc.  pro  Fauna  et 
Flora  Fennica  xi.,  No.  8,  1895,  p.  3-9,  Taf.  i.,  Fig.  1-9)  (E.R.). 


1895.]  REPORTS    ON    ECONOMIC    ENTOMOLOGY      245 

get  a  good  translation  made  for  me.  I  can  read  German  and 
French,  but  I  am  sorry  not  to  be  able  to  write  with  ease  in 
either  language. 

November  21,  1894. 

Dear  Sir, — I  had  much  pleasure  in  receiving  your  kind 
letter  yesterday,  and  also  beg  you  to  receive  my  very  hearty 
thanks  for  your  kind  and  valuable  gift  of  so  many  of  your 
writings  received  on  the  day  before.  But  now  I  am  going 
to  ask  you  a  further  favour.  At  your  leisure  would  you 
oblige  me  with  the  name  of  a  dictionary  which  would  help 
me  to  understand  them  ?  I  do  not  understand  Norwegian, 
but,  with  the  help  of  the  Dano-Norwegian  dictionary  of 
Mons.  A.  Larsen,  I  can  manage  to  make  out  what  I  especially 
need  from  Dr.  Schoyen's  writings,  which  he  is  so  good  as 
to  send  me.  But  now  I  have  been  trying  to  translate  your 
few  lines  on  Charceas  graminis  (Antler  moth)  (chap.  XIII.), 
and  either  from  my  own  ignorance,  which  I  much  regret, 
or  from  not  having  the  right  dictionary,  I  have  not  been 
able  to  read  them. 

P.S. — It  pleases  me  very  much  to  hear  from  you  that  you 
approve  of  my  reports,  and  it  is  kind  of  you  to  mention  it. 

December  11,  1894. 

I  thank  you  most  heartily  for  sending  me  this  useful 
dictionary.  It  is  just  what  I  was  needing.  With  this  help 
I  can  already  make  out  short  pieces  of  your  reports  and 
publications,  which  is  a  great  pleasure  and  profit  to  me. 
It  really  was  quite  a  vexation  to  see  what  I  wanted  so  much 
to  study  and  yet  could  hardly  make  out  any  connected 
meaning.  I  only  just  write  now  to  say  that  both  for  your 
kind  and  helpful  gift  and  your  letter  accompanying  I  thank 
you  most  heartily. 

March  5,  1895. 

I  did  not  at  once  acknowledge  your  Report  on  Injurious 
Insects  which  you  have  sent  me  because  I  thought  very 
likely  you  would  send  me  a  few  lines  about  mine,  and  now 
I  beg  to  acknowledge  your  note  with  many  thanks.  What 
a  vast  sum  it  is  that  you  mention  as  the  loss  [about  5,000,000 
Finn.  Marks=ca.  ;^2oo,ooo,  in  the  years  1889-1891]  caused 
by  Charceas  graminis,  Antler  moth  (fig.  4)  !  I  am  so  sorry 
that  I  am  not  able  to  read  your  reports,  which,  from  the 
little  bits  I  can  pick  out  here  and  there,  are,  I  see,  so 
valuable  and  would  help  me  so  much.  But  please  not  to 
think  that  they  are  wasted  on  me,  for  I  learn  a  great  deal 
that  helps  me,  and  when  there  is  something  that  I  particularly 
wish  to  know  I  get  the  passages  translated, 


246       LETTERS   TO    DR.    ENZIO    REUTER    [Chap.  xxi. 

April  8,  1895. 

I  beg  that  you  will  never  for  one  minute  think  of  taking 
up  your  valuable  time  in  writing  to  me  at  length  about  my 
reports.  If  you  can  at  any  time  (as  you  have  so  nicely  done 
in  your  letter  received  to-day)  tell  me  that  you  think  them 
serviceable,  this  is  a  most  pleasant  encouragement,  for 
which  I  am  grateful,  but  I  know  well  what  a  tax  it  would 
be  to  write  letters,  so  to  say,  merely  for  compliment.  Pray 
believe  me,  I  should  indeed  be  sorry  thus  to  trouble  you.  I 
value  your  writings  that  you  are  good  enough  to  send  me 
very  much,  and  I  got  a  serviceable  Swedish  grammar  and 
studied  it  when  I  could  get  time,  so  I  can  make  out  a  little 
now ;  at  least  so  much  that  I  can  see  where  what  I  wish 
particularly  to  understand  is,  and  get  it  properly  translated. 
Accompanying  I  have  much  pleasure  in  sending  two  copies 
of  my  little  brochure  on  Paris-green.  I  thought  perhaps 
M.,  your  brother  professor,  Odo  M.  Reuter,  whose  pamphlet 
on  C.  graminis  I  have  studied  with  much  benefit,  might  care 
to  have  one. 

August  21,  1895. 

Many  thanks  for  kindly  giving  me  a  copy  of  your  work 
on  the  "  Zwei  neue  Cecidomyinen,"  which  I  am  very  glad 
to  possess.  Your  minute  description  will  be  a  most  valu- 
able assistance  in  identification.  This  year  I  have  only  had 
one  report  of  presence  of  C.  destructor,  but  there  has  been  a 
great  deal  of  insect  presence,  and  sometimes  of  kinds  not 
often  observed  here. 

But  the  chief  point  of  general  interest,  I  think,  has  been 
what  to  do  about  the  Hippohosca  equina  (Forest  fly,  iig.  18), 
relative  to  some  of  our  military  manoeuvres  in  the  New 
Forest,  which  is  its  especial  English  locality.  I  do  not 
know  whether  you  have  the  infestation  so  far  north  as  your 
country  ?     It  is  very  troublesome  at  times  here. 

December  18,  1899. 
I  should  be  very  glad  to  help  you  if  I  could  by  reference 
to  publications  on  '^  Silver-top  "  or  "  White-eared  "  wheat, 
but  I  am  not  aware  of  anything  having  been  written 
on  it  in  this  country  excepting  my  own  short  and 
meagre  notes  in  my  twelfth  Annual  Report,  for  1888 
Specimens  are  sent  me  occasionally,  but — as  by  the  time 
that  the  top  of  the  wheat  (or  grass)  has  faded  so  as  to  draw 
attention  to  the  injury,  the  insect,  if  insect  was  there,  has 
gone — I  have  never  been  able  to  identify  the  cause  of  the 
mischief  with  any  approach  to  certainty.  I  conjecture  the 
cause  to  be  the  presence  of  some  species  of  thrips.    The 


1893.]  SILVER-TOP   WHEAT  247 

American  observations  point  to  this,  but  these  you  probably 
are  well  acquainted  with  (and,  indeed,  it  is  not  these  you 
are  inquiring  about).  In  my  notes  I  mention  the  peculiar 
manner  in  which  the  injured  upper  part  of  the  stem  can  be 
withdrawn,  the  stem  having  been  apparently  severed  about 
three  or  four  inches  above  the  uppermost  knot.  In  the 
only  instance  I  have  seen  in  which  the  attack  was  still  in  pro- 
gress (that  is,  the  stem  was  not  already  parted,  although  it 
■  cracked  asunder  on  being  pulled),  I  found  that  at  the  point 
of  fracture  the  straw  tube  had  within  an  irregular  swollen 
growth,  what  might  be  described  as  a  granulated  growth, 
filling  up  the  tube ;  also  the  cross-section  showed  small 
open  cells  which  had  been  cracked  across  in  severing  the 
stem.  I  had  specimens  of  the  attack  also  on  barley,  and  at 
the  time  I  was  inclined,  from  the  absence  of  all  insect  appear- 
ance, to  ascribe  it  to  some  vegetable  disease,  but  in  the 
years  that  have  elapsed  since  then  it  has  appeared  to  me 
more  likely  to  be  attributable  to  thrips. 

I  am  afraid  that  there  is  not  anything  worth  your  study  in 
the  page  and  a  few  lines  of  my  remarks,  but  if  you  would 
care  to  see  it,  I  would  gladly  direct  a  copy  of  my  twelfth 
Annual  Report  to  be  sent  for  your  acceptance.  I  would  do 
so  now,  but  I  have  not  an  unbound  copy  by  me.  Many 
thanks  for  your  own  publications  which  you  have  kindly 
sent  me.  I  have  read  with  great  interest  your  remarks  on 
the  Argyresthia  conjiigella,  Zell.^  We  have  an  apple  attack 
here  occasionally  noticeable  which  agrees  well  with  the 
characteristics  of  this  infestation,  but  I  have  never  been 
fortunate  enough  to  identify  the  cause. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 

To  Professor  Dr,  Alfred  Nalepa,  Gnmnden,  Vienna, 

TORRINGTON    HoUSE,   ST.   AlBANS,    ENGLAND, 

August  3,  1893. 
Monsieur, — I  am  very  greatly  indebted  to  your  kindness 
and  courtesy  in  taking  the  trouble  to  give  me  all  the  very 
valuable  and  helpful  information  which  you  favoured  me 
with  in  your  letter  of  the  28th  July.  I  also  thank  you  much 
for  your  permission  to  make  some  extracts  in  my  Annual 
Report  from  the  information  which  you  have  placed  in  my 

'  The  larvae  of  this  species  infested  badly  the  apple  fruits  in  the 
whole  of  Finland  in  the  summer  of  1898.  (Cfr.  "Ent.  Rec,"  xi.,  No.  2, 
1899,  pp.  37-39,  and  "Can.  Ent.,"  xxxi.,  1899,  pp.  12-14).— E.  R- 


248  LETTERS   TO    DR.    NALEPA       [Chap.  xxi. 

hands.  This  is  a  very  great  favour,  and  you  may  rest 
assured  that  I  will  most  fully  acknowledge  my  debt  to  your- 
self. From  the  study  of  the  pamphlet  which  you  were  good 
enough  to  send  me  I  have  already  benefited  largely.  But  I 
earnestly  pray  you,  do  not  let  me  intrude  on  your  kind 
liberality  for  any  work  that  I  might  be  able  (if  you  were 
good  enough  to  give  me  the  name)  to  purchase.  My 
London  booksellers  are  accustomed  to  procuring  Conti- 
nental publications  for  me,  and  I  am  feeling  myself  so 
greatly  indebted  to  you  for  valuable  information  that  I  am 
quite  uneasy  at  not  being  able  to  reciprocate  as  I  much 
wish.  I  have  delayed  writing  in  the  hope  of  being  able  to 
procure  some  specimens,  but  as  yet  I  have  only  the  enclosed 
(Pear-leaf  blister  galls,  ?  of  Phytoptus  pyri)  to  send  to  you 
from  trees  in  my  own  garden,  and  these  I  am  afraid  will  be 
of  little  interest.  Your  valuable  list  of  infestations  has  shown 
me  that  there  are  very  many  kinds  of  Phytoptus  attack  that 
I  had  no  idea  of  the  existence  of,  and  I  will  indeed  try  to 
be  of  some  service  to  you. 

By  book  post  accompanying  I  beg  your  kind  acceptance 
of  the  current  number  of  my  Annual  Report,  in  which  are 
some  remarks  on  a  species  of  Entedon  (or  Entedoriidce,  para- 
sites of  Dipterous  leaf-miners  especially)  which  we  found  in 
currant  buds  in  watching  for  what  we  hoped  might  prove  a 
parasite  on  the  Phytoptus.  I  fear  my  report  will  be  of  little 
interest  to  you,  but  I  just  beg  you  to  accept  to  show  the 
kind  of  publication. 

August  16,  1893. 

I  postponed  replying  to  your  kind  letter  of  the  7th  in  the 
hope  that  I  might  have  something  of  interest  to  send  you, 
but  I  have  only  been  able  to  procure  the  enclosed  Prunus 
galls.  They  are  from  Toddington,  Gloucestershire.  I 
rather  fear  they  will  wither  on  the  journey,  but  I  forward 
them  because  the  twigs  have  something  amiss  with  them, 
which  just  possibly  may  be  owing  to  Phytoptus  presence. 
Thank  you  much  for  giving  me  the  name  of  the  Phytoptus 
pyri,  which  I  have  noted  at  p.  296  in  your  *^  Katalog,"  which 
you  were  good  enough  to  send  me,  and  which  is  of  truly 
valuable  assistance.  My  booksellers  will,  I  hope,  before 
long  procure  me  five  or  six  of  your  publications  either  in 
separate  impressions  or  in  the  parts  or  volumes  in  which 
they  were  published,  and  then  I  shall  hope  to  have  the 
information  that  I  am  much  wishing  for,  without  troubling 
you  personally.  But  should  the  special  attack,  which  1 
desire  to  understand  better,  not  be  specifically  described, 


1893.] 


BLISTER   MITES 


249 


then  I  should  indeed  be  very  thankful  to  avail  myself  of 
your  kind  permission  to  ask  for  further  information,  and 
a  sketch  would  be  a  most  valuable  aid.  I  have  too  great 
a  respect  for  the  time  and  work  of  scientific  men  to  intrude 
if  I  can  possibly  help  it,  and  I  am  very  grateful  for  the 
important  help  which  you  have  already  given  me. 


I,  female  (natural  length  circa  0*2  mm.)  ;  2a,  left  leg  of  the  first  pair 
of  Phytoptus  tristriatus,  and  26,  of  Phytoptus  tristriattis  var.  carinea, 
magnified  550  times— all  after  Dr.  Nalepa.    3,  infested  pear  leaf. 

FIG.  64.— PEAR   LEAF  BLISTER  MITE,  PHYTOPTUS  PYRI. 

November  2,  1893. 
I  am  greatly  obliged  for  your  kind  letter  received  two 
days  ago,  and  it  is  so  very  good  of  you  to  have  taken  the 
trouble  of  writing  the  names  of  the  various  portions  of  the 
Phytoptus  on  your  plate  accompanying  so  clearly  for  me 
that  I  hardly  know  how  to  express  my  thanks  sufficiently. 


250  LETTERS  TO    DR.   NALEPA       [Chap.  xxi. 

This  is  indeed  a  most  acceptable  help,  for  there  were  some 
of  the  quite  minutely  technical  terms  that  I  had  failed  to 
make  out  the  meaning  of,  and  now  you  have  most  excel- 
lently got  over  my  difficulties  for  me,  and  I  thank  you  very 
much  for  the  same.  Since  I  wrote  to  you  at  Gmiinden  I 
have  had  great  pleasure  and  benefit  in  procuring  some  of 
your  valuable  publications,  so  full  of  excellent  descriptions 
and  figures.  One  of  these  is  the  separate  impression  of 
your  paper,  read  on  January  24,  1889,  with  9  plates,  in- 
cluding p.  II,  of  which  you  have  now  sent  me  this  valuably 
explained  copy. 

Another — the  separate  impression  for  February  13th — 
contains  description,  p.  11,  and  figure,  plate  iv.,  of  Phytoptus 
pyri,  and  I  have  also  a  copy  of  your  ^'  Genera  und  Species 
der  Familie  Phytoptidae,"  1891.  Now  I  think,  thanks  to 
study  of  your  clear  descriptions,  I  have  a  fair  knowledge  of 
the  characteristics  of  a  Phytoptus,  and  of  the  divisions  of 
the  Family  Phytoptidae.  When  I  publish  my  next  Annual 
Report  I  should  very  much  wish  to  give  my  readers  some 
better  information  than  I  have  hitherto  been  able  to  do,  and 
to  point  to  them  from  what  source  I  obtained  it,  and  how 
they  may  obtain  it  for  themselves.  I  think  I  have  your 
kind  permission  to  use  one  of  your  figures.  I  am  therefore 
having  a  very  careful  copy  executed  of  your  P.pyri  (plate  iv., 
fig.  i),  of  the  two  claws  (in  your  Genera  and  Species, 
plate  ii.,  9a  and  6),  together  with  an  attacked  leaf  from  life 
(Fig.  64). 

Your  part  would  be  a  most  soundly  valuable  aid  to 
readers  here,  for  really  and  truly  I  doubt  if  more  than  very 
few  among  us  are  aware  (say)  that  the  legs  of  the  Phytoptus 
are  made  up  of  claw,  tarsus,  tibia,  and  so  on,  much  less  that 
the  claw  is  of  this  peculiar  shape.  I  confess  to  you  I  was 
ignorant  of  this  myself.  I  should  like  to  give  a  part  of  your 
description  of  the  P.  pyri  to  show  what  a  description  ought 
to  be ;  also  to  allude  to  the  species  which  you  were  so  good 
as  to  name  for  me,  and  to  your  principle  of  classification 
(p.  317  of  "Katalog").  Should  any  of  this  not  be  accord- 
ing to  your  pleasure,  I  beg  of  you  kindly  to  tell  me.  I 
should  indeed  be  ungrateful  if,  after  all  your  kind  help,  I 
trespassed  on  your  information  against  your  w4sh.  Should 
you  allow  it,  you  may  depend  on  me  to  quote  accurately,  so 
that  my  quotations  will  send  readers  to  your  works,  not 
enable  them  to  use  my  report  as  a  robbery  of  you  ;  also  I 
would  fully  and  honestly  acknowledge  the  source  of  my 
information,  and  be  truly  grateful.    I  wish  I  could  send  you 


i893.] 


GALL   MITES 


251 


specimens.  Would  you  care  to  have  some  galls  of  the 
Phytoptns  rib  is  from  black  currant  in  their  (I  think)  very 
unusually  advanced  condition  for  this  time  of  year  ?  If  so, 
I  think  I  could  procure  some  from  Kent. 

It  is  with  regret  that  I  read  in  your  letter  that  you  are  not 
in  strong  health.  But  if  you  could  work  less  severely  might 
not  you  hope  to  have  benefit  ?    The  excessively  minute  work 


I,  Mite,  greatly  magnified — natural  length  of  female  0-23  millimetres  ; 
2,  head  and  fore  parts,  still  more  magnified  (by  permission,  after 
Dr.  A.  Nalepa)  ;  3,  mite-galls  of  unusually  large  size,  with  one  withered 
and  open. 

FIG.   65. — CURRANT  GALL  MITE,   PHYTOPTUS  RIBIS,   NALEPA. 


of  your  elaborate  investigations  must  be  exceedingly  wear- 
ing. In  my  own  observations  (which,  indeed,  are  not  to  be 
compared  with  yours)  I  always  find  they  tell  very  much  on 
my  health  if  I  have  at  once  to  overwork  my  sight  with  the 
microscope  and  my  mind  in  the  record  of  my  observations. 


252  LETTERS  TO   MR.    LOUNSBURY    [Chap.  xxi. 

But  I  have  not  robust  health,  so  that  I  can  sympathise. 
With  renewed  thanks  for  the  welcome  contents  of  yours 
lately  received. 

March  12,  1894. 

I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  your  kind  present  of  your 
"  Beitrage  zur  Kenntniss  der  Phyllocoptiden/'  with  its  first- 
rate  descriptions  and  magnificent  figures.  It  is  a  very  great 
advantage  to  me  to  be  in  possession  of  your  noble  work  on 
these  creatures,  and  I  feel  myself  very  much  indebted  for 
all  the  great  help  you  have  given  me. 

About  the  Phytoptus  ribis.  I  delayed  replying  because  I 
thought  that  if  any  thoroughly  complete  description  of  this 
Phytoptus  had  been  published  by  Professor  Westwood  it 
would  be  sure  to  be  known  of  by  Mr.  W.  Hatchett  Jackson, 
of  Keble  College,  Oxford,  who  was  Professor  Westwood's 
chief  assistant.  But  he  tells  me  that  "  under  the  generic 
name  of  Acarellus  I  can  find  nothing  but  a  brief  paragraph 
without  figure  in  the  accounts  of  the  meetings  of  the  Entom. 
Soc."  Mr.  Jackson  adds,  "  I  remember  the  occasion  very 
well,  and  making  sHdes  for  him  from  specimens  in  our  own 
garden.  I  shall  search  for  those  slides  in  the  Hope 
Museum." — W.  H.  J. 

After  some  search  here  I  found  the  enclosed,  and  as  I 
think  you  would  desire  to  see  the  fullest  account  which  I 
believe  Professor  Westwood  published,  I  have  detached  the 
page.  If  he  were  still  with  us  I  know  how  he  would  have 
delighted  in  your  splendid  unravelling  of  what  was  then  a 
mystery.  At  your  best  convenience,  when  you  have  quite 
certainly  no  further  use  for  the  page,  perhaps  you  would 
kindly  let  me  have  it  back. 

In  my  own  early  observations  of  the  habits  of  the  Currant 
Phytoptus  I  noted  it  as  P.  ribis,  Westwood,  on  the  authority, 
or  rather  after  the  example,  of  Mr.  Andrew  Murray  (see 
**  Aptera,"  p.  355),  for  we  had  not  in  those  days  any  more 
trustworthy  and  accepted  guidance,  but  as  to  comparing 
these  with  such  a  work  as  yours,  no  one  with  the  least  atom 
of  knowledge  would  think  for  a  minute  of  such  a  thing. 
Yours  very  truly, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 

To  C.   P.  Lounsbury,  Esq.,  Government  Entomologist, 
Cape   Town, 

TORRINGTON    HOUSE,   St.    AlBANS, 

September  17,  1895. 
Dear  Mr.  Lounsbury, — It   gave  me  great  pleasure  to 


1895.]  BREAD   OR   BOOT   BEETLE  253 

receive  your  letter  this  morning,  in  all  excepting  that  I  find 
I  might  possibly  have  seen  yourself  and  Mrs.  Lounsbury. 
I  am  really  very  sorry  not  to  have  done  this,  for  there  are 
many  things  so  difficult  to  enter  on  in  writing,  which  yet  (as 
now  you  are  on  our  British  staff)  I  should  like  you  to 
know,  relative  to  entomological  matters,  and  also,  though 
1  should  have  said  this  first,  it  would  have  been  a  pleasure 
to  my  sister  and  myself  to  become  personally  acquainted 
with  you.  How  fortunate  you  are  in  having  such 
a  skilled  colleague  [his  wife]  ;  it  must  be  a  real  comfort 
to  you  to  have  an  entomological  alter  ego,  and  yet  such 
a  charming  companion. 

I  do  not  know  whether  you  have  my  little  book  on 
"  South  African  Insects,"  so  I  beg  your  acceptance  of  a  copy 
sent  by  this  post. 

You  will  have  made  acquaintance  with  your  colleagues, 


I,  Beetle  ;  2,  larva  ;  3,  pupa,  magnified  (from  Bulletin  No.  4,  New 
Series,  U.S.A.  Department  of  Agriculture,  p.   124). 

FIG.  66. — BREAD,   PASTE  OR   BOOT  BEETLE,   DRUG  STORE  BEETLE  (U.S.A.), 

ANOBIUM  PANICEUM  {  =  SITODREPA   PANICEA)  LINN. 

and  you  will,  I  conjecture,  find  Mr.  Bairstow  useful  if  he  be 
still  attending  to  insect  matters.  He  collected  a  great  deal 
of  information  for  me  when  I  was  compiling  my  little 
S.A.  book.  But  now  I  am  chiefly  writing  to  indicate  the 
pleasure  it  will  give  me  to  be  in  communication  with  you 
as  occasion  may  occur,  and  with  good  wishes  both  for  your 
success  and  comfort  to  yourself  and  Mrs.  Lounsbury,  &c. 

November  ^,  1895. 
I  had  great  pleasure  in  receiving  your  letter  of  the  12th 
of  October,  and  first  of  all  I  will  try  to  reply  so  far  as 
I  am  able  about  the  Boot  beetle,  Anohium  paniceum.  The 
English  manufacturers  did  what  is  so  very  inconvenient — 
though  one  is  not  surprised  at  it — they  begged  that  their 


^54 


LETTERS  TO   MR   LOUNSBURY    [Chap.  xxi. 


names  and  localities  might  not  be  mentioned.  But  with 
regard  to  the  use  of  a  deterrent  paste  (or  mixture  in  the 
paste),  it  was  quite  plain  that  they  did  not  mean  to  do  any- 
thing. They  spoke  of  difficulties  to  the  workers,  &c.,  and 
as  to  using  Paris-green  ! — really,  there  would  have  been 
a  disturbance  indeed,  if  I  had  ventured  to  suggest  such  a 
thing.  The  subject  appeared  to  be  making  no  headway,  and 
my  suggestions  as  to  the  all-importance  of  cleanliness  in 
the  workshop,  so  that  the  beetles  might  have  no  harbouring 
places,  did  not  meet  their  views.  So  I  strongly  advised  in 
order  to  make  sure  whether  the  infestation  took  possession 
in  this  country  or  at  the  Cape,  that  some  boots  should  be 


FIG.   67. — UPPER   OF  A   BOOT  INJURED   BY  MAGGOT  OF   PASTE   BEETLE, 
ANOBIUM  PANICEUM. 


packed  up  and  properly  secured  against  all  possibilities  of 
external  infestation,  and  sent  to  South  Africa,  and  on  arrival 
there,  sent  back  to  the  exporters  here  unopened.  Thus  we 
should  have  learned  on  examination,  if  they  were  infested, 
that  the  mischief  was  started  in  this  country.  But  not  one 
word  on  the  subject  have  I  had  from  them  since.  Perhaps 
the  result  put  the  locality  of  the  origin  of  evil  being  in  this 
country  beyond  doubt.  I  have  kept  a  quantity  of  the 
letters  on  the  subject  laid  away,  but  now  I  think  1  cannot 
use  them  to  better  purpose  than  by  forwarding  them  to 
you.  Please  do  not  return  them.  I  have  not  re-read  them, 
but  it  is  impossible  there  can  be  anything  confidential  in 
them,  excepting  the  names  of  the  firms  which  the  writers 


1896.]  THREAD  WORMS  AND   REPORTS  255 

did  not  wish  published,  and  it  is  just  possible  (in  case  you 
can  spare  time  to  run  them  through)  that  there  may  be 
points  of  interest. 

What  you  say  of  inertness  is  just  what  is  such  a  drag  on 
the  advance  of  work  here.  Instead  of  getting  information, 
and  acting  on  it,  they  (or  many)  propose  to  write  to  the 
Board  of  Agriculture  or  possibly  to  another  quarter,  and 
sometimes  they  follow  advice,  sometimes  they  do  not. 

Just  now  I  had  an  application  about  Strongylus  filaria 
(thread  worms  which  produce  husk  or  hoose)  which  is 
doing  great  damage  in  one  district.  They  thought  of 
writing  to  the  Board  of  Agriculture.  I  suggested  the 
excellent  account  in  your  Dr.  Curtice's  book  on  ^'  Sheep 
Diseases,"  but  it  did  not  appear  to  have  occurred  to  them 
to  teach  themselves. 

June  24,  1896. 

It  was  with  great  pleasure  that  I  received  your  first 
Report  about  two  days  ago,  and  I  must  both  very  sincerely 
and  heartily  congratulate  you  on  this  good  work.  It 
seems  to  me  quite  an  example  of  what  a  report  should  be. 
Clear  wording  that  all  can  understand,  and  a  short  sound 
life  history,  with  all  requisite  means  of  prevention  of  the 
specially  detailed  "  pest "  attacks,  with  a  deal  of  excellent 
reading  besides.  Indeed,  I  congratulate  you  greatly  on 
taking  your  place  so  firmly,  and  I  consider  the  Colony  is 
much  to  be  congratulated  also  on  securing  your  help.  I  am 
glad  to  see  that  the  Government  gives  you  good  paper  and 
printing.  There  is  only  one  thing  which  I  should  much 
like  to  see  added,  and  that  is  pictorial  illustrations.  Could 
not  you  have  at  least  some  figures  ?  I  believe  they  are 
available  in  the  Government  Stores.  Sometime  after  the 
publication  of  my  little  book  on  the  ^Mnjurious  Insects  of 
South  Africa,"  a  request  was  made  to  me  for  a  number  of 
figures,  which  with  much  pleasure  I  presented.  If  you 
would  like,  besides  those  which  could  be  looked  up  at 
the  office  of  the  "Agricultural  Journal,"  electros  of  some  of 
the  figures  which  are  my  own,  which  I  use  in  my  own 
publications,  I  would  gladly  send  you  out,  say  a  dozen  or 
a  dozen  and  a  half,  if  the  Agent  General  would  (as  I  feel 
pretty  sure  he  would)  kindly  allow  me  to  send  them  out 
to  you  in  the  Government  box.  It  would  give  me  real 
pleasure  if  I  could  be  of  any  help  to  you  in  your  good  work. 

August  17,  1896. 
I  have  this  morning  had  great  pleasure  in  receiving  your 
letter,  and  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  send  you  electrotypes  of 


256  LETTERS  TO   MR.   LOUNSBURY    [Chap.  xxr. 

the  blocks  of  which  you  will  let  me  have  a  list, — that  is  to 
say,  of  such  as  are  quite  my  own.  Those  that  I  have  from 
Messrs.  Blackie  and  Son,  Stanhope  Street,  Glasgow,  I  have 
only  permission  to  use  in  my  own  publications.  I  think 
very  likely,  though,  that,  if  you  were  inclined  to  purchase 
electrotypes  from  them,  they  would  be  quite  willing  to  let 
you  have  them  at  the  same  price  which  they  charge  me, 
that  is  eighteenpence  the  square  inch.  About  my  own,  I 
have  no  difBculties,  as  my  wood  figures  and  electrotypes  are 
all  in  charge  of  my  printers.  There  would  be  no  charge  for 
carriage,  and  I  would  charge  you  just  the  cost  price  of  the 
electros.  But  there  is  one  point,  please,  that  I  am  sure  you 
will  forgive  me  insisting  on  as  a  condition  of  use  of  my 
electrotypes,  namely,  that  they  may  be  used  in  any  publica- 
tion of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  of  Cape  Colony,  or 
in  any  publication  of  your  own,  but  nowhere  else  without 
my  consent. 

July  28,  1899. 

I  have,  I  am  afraid,  been  owing  you  for  a  long  time, 
more  than  one  letter  in  reciprocation  of  your  kind  letters  to 
me,  but  I  have  hoped  you  would  forgive  me,  for  you  know 
how  I  am  situated  with  a  deal  of  application  and  no  staff. 
I  am  wanting  now  to  say  that  I  hope  you  have  not  been 
vexed  with  me  for  having  had  a  hand  in  robbing  you  of  an 
efficient  member  of  your  staff  (Mr.  Fuller),  which  I  am 
afraid  must  for  the  present  be  an  inconvenience,  but  it 
surely  will  be  an  immense  benefit  to  Natal,  to  have 
a  trustworthy  Entomologist. 

I  am  trying  to  work  up  Piophila  casei  (Cheese  and 
Bacon  fly),  which  Miss  Murtfeldt  took  up  so  well.  I  incline 
to  think  that  it  is  more  present  than  is  supposed,  only  of 
course,  "  cured  meat "  dealers  do  not  like  to  own  to  it.  I 
have  got  a  nice  little  family  reared  from  bacon  for  observa- 
tion under  a  glass,  and  some  of  their  brothers  and  sisters 
loose  about  the  room,  which  I  see  little  or  nothing  of  until 
the  cheese  is  brought  in  twice  a  day,  when  they  come,  and 
so  give  me  an  opportunity  of  watching  egg-laying. 

August  9,  1899. 

What  a  frightful  thing  this  prospect  of  war  is  !  I  have  not 
an  idea  what  may  be  politically  right,  but  it  distresses  me 
intensely  to  think  of  the  sorrow,  and  so  far  as  in  me  lay 
I  have  had  a  hand  in  getting  poor  Mr.  Fuller  right  into  the 
thick   of  the   trouble.  ^     You   have  assuredly   been  having 

'  Miss  Ormerod  had  recommended  Mr.  Fuller  for  the  appointment 
he  secured  in  Natal. 


1898.]  GENERAL   MATTERS  257 

trouble  enough,  with  fire,  water,  and  ^^  sausages "  !  I  am 
truly  glad  that  your  books  and  insects  were  not  very  much 
damaged.  But  I  hope  you  will  not  peril  your  valuable 
health  by  turning  yourself  into  a  pasturage  ground  as  you 
say,  for  these  very  detestable  ticks.  Much  better  try  the 
convict !     His  nervous  system  will  not  be  so  delicate.  ^ 

July  5,  1900. 

I  learn  with  great  pleasure  that  you  and  Mrs.  Lounsbury 
are  coming  back  through  England,  and  I  hope  you  will  be 
able  to  give  me  the  great  pleasure  of  your  looking  in  here. 
I  should  be  so  glad  to  see  you,  and  you  and  I  could  have 
some  delightful  entomological  talk.  On  Saturday  next,  I 
hope  to  see  Dr.  John  B.  Smith,  State  Entomologist  of  New 
Jersey. 

What  a  business  you  must  have  in  transporting  your 
parasites  from  America  to  Cape  Colony,  but  I  hope  you 
will  have  good  success  in  obtaining  the  specimens  you  are 
needing.  Yours  sincerely, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 

To  Claude  Fuller y  Esq.f  Entomologist  Department  of  Agriculture, 
Pietermaritzhurgy  Natal. 

TORRINGTON    HoUSE,   St.   AlBANS, 

November  s,  1898. 

Dear  Mr.  Fuller, — I  would  very  gladly  in  reply  to 
your  request,  offer  you  any  suggestion  in  my  power,  but 
I  scarcely  know  whether  my  ideas  would  be  serviceable. 
Judging  by  my  own  experiences  in  purchase  by  farmers 
or  fruit-growers  of  books  which  they  certainly  need  and 
wish  to  have  the  information  contained  in,  I  should  not 
expect  any  publisher  to  take  any  MS.  of  mine  as  a  specula- 
tion. The  good  folks  wish  for  the  books,  but  they  do  not, 
at  least  only  a  very  small  proportion  of  them  (I  am  speaking 
of  agriculturists)  wish  to  buy.  My  work  is  done  at  a  great 
money  loss,  and  my  publishers  do  not  take  my  books  as  a 
speculation,  but  act  in  fact  as  my  agents.  Could  you  not  get 
your  MS.  published  in  a  serial,  with  a  stipulation,  that  you 
held  copyright,  and  so  your  valuable  information  would  be 
brought  forward  without  cost  to  yourself. 

There  is  another  point.  The  differences  in  species,  even 
in  genera,  are  terribly  difficult  to  be  sure  of  amongst  many 
of  the  Scale  insects,  and  many  of  the  Aphides,  and  unless 

'  This  note  refers  to  a  fire  in  Mr.  Lounsbury' s  department  and  to  the 
investigation  of  red  water  fever  in  cattle  produced  by  ticks. 

i8 


258  LETTER  TO   MR.    FULLER         [Chap.  xxi. 

fruit-growers  have  magnifiers  and  knowledge  how  to  use 
them,  I  should  not  expect  them  to  identify  to  any  trust- 
worthy purpose.  If  you  brought  out  a  strictly  scientific 
work  this  of  course  would  be  very  valuable  as  a  book  of 
reference,  and  Prevention  and  Remedies  added  would 
make  it  very  useful  indeed  ;  but  if  you  look  forward  to 
purchase  by  the  public,  I  am  afraid  you  will  not  find  it 
happen. 

Please  excuse  rather  a  hurried  letter  to  catch  the  evening 
post,  and  believe  me.  Yours  very  truly, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 


CHAPTER    XXII 

LETTERS  TO  MR.  JANSON  AND  MR.  MEDD 

Deer  Forest  fly — Flour  moths — Weevils — Grouse  and  Cheese  flies — Beetles — 
Agricultural  Education  Committee — The  Water-baby  Leaflet — Paper  on 
Wasps. 

Mr.  Janson,  addressed  in  the  opening  letters  of  this  chapter, 
occupied  the  position  of  technical  expert,  to  whom  Miss 
Ormerod  referred  her  generally  accurate  identifications  of 
insects  for  confirmation.  The  cases  of  flour  infestation 
referred  to  we  have  learned  of  in  Chapter  X.,  "  Legal 
Experiences."  The  language  employed  is  more  technical 
than  in  any  other  part  of  her  correspondence — the  words 
of  an  expert  addressing  herself  to  another  expert  in  the 
language  of  their  common  subject.  Mr.  Medd's  name  has 
been  more  associated  with  education  than  entomology, 
especially  in  relation  to  the  comparatively  new  branch  of 
"Nature  Study." 

To  Mr.  0.  E.  Jansoiiy  Technical  Expert  in  Entomology^ 
44,  Great  Russell  Street,  IV.C. 

TORRINGTON    HOUSE,   St.  AlBAN'S, 

February  13,  1897. 

Dear  Mr.  Janson, — I  hope  that  in  a  very  few  days  you 
will  receive  your  copy  of  my  twentieth  Report,  in  which  you 
helped  me  so  especially  about  the  Forest  flies. 

I  am  hoping  you  may  be  good  enough  to  help  me  about 
the  enclosed,  or  kindly  put  me  in  the  right  path,  for  I  greatly 
hope  that  this  may  prove  to  be  the  long-needed  observation 
about  amount  of  wings  of  the  2  (female)  Deer  Forest  fly, 
the  Lipoptera  cervi  (fig.  23).  I  received  a  day  or  two  ago  a 
good  number,  many  still  alive,  or  fresh  on  a  little  piece  of 
Roe-deer's  hide,  which  was  infested  with  them  even  to  being 

259 


26o  LETTERS  TO   MR.   JANSON       [Chap.  xxii. 

in  clusters  (from  Strathconan  forest,  Ross-shire).  On 
examining,  I  found  on  each  side,  at  the  hinder  edge  of  the 
thorax,  a  Httle  membranous  kind  of  structure  with  a  scal- 
loped edge,  and  on  very  carefully  raising  it  I  found  it  was 
fixed  to  the  thorax  by  a  joint,  and  was,  I  think,  quite 
certainly  an  abortive  wing.  I  saw  veins  traversing  the 
structure  longitudinally,  and  though  the  scalloped  and 
notched  extremity  was  irregular  in  shape,  it  did  not  at  all 
have  the  appearance  (to  my  thinking  at  least)  of  being  torn. 
Enclosed  1  send  you  half  a  dozen  specimens,  one  of  which 
has  the  structure  very  plain  ;  the  others  I  picked  out  at 
random,  and  what  I  am  very  much  wishing  you  would  help 
me  about  is  whether  these  are  females.  They  have  the  dis- 
tinguishing dark  brown  colour  (not  the  faint  yellow 
colour  of  the  male),  and  I  should  say  they  had  the 
shape  of  the  female,  but  I  am  not  anatomist  enough  to  be 
certain.  If  you  cannot  with  complete  convenience  tell  me 
yourself  could  you  oblige  by  getting  me  a  trustworthy 
opinion.  I  would  most  gladly  give  a  most  liberal  considera- 
tion to  any  one  you  would  get  to  investigate,  for  if  these 
are  females,  we  have  here  the  long-wanted  observation,  and 
proof  that  they  have  abortive  wings.  I  have  plenty  more 
specimens  if  you  would  care  for  some  more  ;  also  I  have  two 
puparia. 

February  23,  1897. 
I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  helping  me  in  this  matter 
of  the  L.  cenri.  You  will  remember  that  you  kindly  helped 
me  to  a  sight  of  a  good  number  of  German  publications, 
from  which  I  made  large  extracts,  and,  turning  to  these,  I 
find  notes  of  the  male  and  of  the  female  L.  cervi,  being 
found  together  in  the  hair  of  the  deer  all  the  winter  through, 
and  pairing  there  and  the  female  depositing  puparia.  But 
the  matter  is  much  involved  by  the  following  statement 
regarding  two  varieties  in  the  form  of  the  males  by  Professor 
Stein,  or  Hartmann  quoted  by  Stein  :  '^  The  first  are  pale 
yellow,  and  the  abdomen  is  slender  and  shrivels  considerably 
after  death;  the  latter  are  more  yellow  brown,  their  abdomen 
is  wider  and  firmer,  and  the  external  organs  of  propagation 
clearly  observable."  There  is  a  deal  about  abortive  or  shed 
wings,  but  the  writers  are  under  uncertainty.  My  belief  is 
that  our  only  hope  towards  clearing  up  the  matter  is  our 
own  observation,  and  if  these  creatures  are  really  females, 
we  have  got  the  information  that  was  being  sought  after. 
But  do  not  let  me  tax  your  very  great  good  nature  too  much. 
If  you  could  give  a  specimen  or  two  to  Mr.  Verrall  and  to 


1897]         ENTOMOLOGICAL   CONSULTATION  261 

Mr.  Austen  I  should  like  it,  and  you  would  hear  what  they 
say,  and  I  would  replace  them  to  you.  I  have  two  puparia 
which  I  suppose  are  not  likely  to  develop  till  towards  the 
end  of  summer. 

April  16,  1897. 

I  have  been  so  fortunate  as  to  find  a  puparium  of  a  Deer 
Forest  fly  lately  sent  me  in  a  consignment  from  Strathconan, 
and  this  gave  me  an  opportunity  of  communicating  with 
Professor  Jos.  Mik,  Vienna,  and  he  pronounces  the  specimens 
I  sent  accompanying  to  be  females.  He  writes  me  (and  I 
think  it  very  kind  of  him  to  take  the  trouble)  an  exceedingly 
long  letter,  full  of  information  and  references,  extending 
in  a  very  small  handwriting  over  five  and  a  half  large  pages 
of  note-paper,  and,  as  he  justly  remarks,  I  have  some 
difficulty  in  reading  it ! 

1  think  of  getting  Mr.  Pillischer  to  make  some  preparations 
of  the  L.  cewi  ?  and  their  abortive  wings  so  that  we  may 
have  material  for  a  good  figure.  Professor  Mik  is  fearfully 
particular. 

May  12,  1897. 

Professor  Mik  identified  my  L.  cervi  as  certainly  well- 
developed  females.  I  think  he  was  a  good  deal  pleased  to 
have  a  mature  puparium  which  I  sent  him  and  to  dissect 
out  an  immature  one.  He  says  that  he  has  himself  ? 
of  L.  cetvi,  with  abortive  wings,  so  my  work  will  not  be  a 
discovery  as  I  hoped,  still  I  think  it  will  be  of  interest  to 
illustrate. 

May  24,  1897. 

Your  description  of  L.  minor  (lesser  earwig)  has  helped 
me  enormously,  and  I  have  translated  as  much  as  I  think  is 
likely  to  be  needed  of  the  technical  part  to  help  Mr.  Knight 
to  make  a  characteristic  drawing  (fig.  43). 

I  should  like  ^  ov  ^  and  forceps  of  both,  and  I  have 
material  for  this,  but  I  should  very  much  like  a  wing.  I 
tried  to  unfold  one  or  two  and  wasted  my  materials.  Would 
your  microscopist  set  one  for  me  do  you  think  ?  I  should 
much  like  it;  for  I  fancy  (I  have  not  been  able  to  make  sure) 
that  there  is  a  longer  band  of  dark  colour  along  the  front 
edge  than  in  our  common  earwig.  But,  any  way,  if  I  could 
have  the  wing  set  I  should  very  much  like  to  have  a  good 
figure  of  it. 

October  5,  1897. 

If  you  can  spare  time  to  help  me  in  the  present  inquiry,  I 
should  be  much  obliged ;  it  is  quite  a  trade  business  matter. 
I  am  consulted  by  a  London  firm  dealing  in  flour,  as  to 


262 


LETTERS  TO   MR.   JANSON       [Chap.  xxii. 


infestation  in  their  barrels,  but  as  I  gather  it  may  be  both 
from  the  Eastern  and  the  Western  world,  and  also  may  be 
infested  by  insect  pests  from  whatever  may  be  lying  on  the 
wharves,  I  want  to  be  very  sure  of  my  identifications. 

The  presence  of  Ephestia  kuhniella{¥\ouv  moth)  was  quite 
plain,  so  this  I  need  not  trouble  you  about.  But  about  the 
•'  Weevils."  I  think  those  of  which  I  enclose  specimens  in 
the  bottle  stoppered  with  cotton-wool,  are  the  common 
Calandra  (=  Sitophilns  granarins).  I  am  quite  sure  C.  oryzcv 
was  present,  but  1  do  not  think  I  have  enclosed  any.  Messrs. 
Henderson  write  me  to-day  that  they  are  quite  sure  their 
barrels  took  the  infestation  from  oil-cakes  which  were 
swarming  with  S.  granarins.     To  the  best  of  my  belief  and 


6,  7,  Granary  weevil  ;  2,  3,  chrysalis^  natural  size,  and  magnified  ; 
8,  9,  rice  weevil,  natural  size,  and  magnified  ;  1,4,  infested  grains, 
also  magnified. 

FIG.  68. — GTRANARY  WEEVIL,   SITOPHJLUS   GRANARIUS,   AND   RICE   WEEVIL, 
SITOPHILUS  ORYZM. 


search,  Calandra  only  lives  on  grain,  so  I  fancy  that  its  con- 
nection with  the  oil-cakes  must  be  only  as  a  shelter.  I  know 
Calandra  will  resort  to  remains  of  bread  and  milk  or  ripe 
apricots  near  a  granary,  but  I  supposed  this  was  in  search  of 
moisture.  But,  nevertheless,  as  one  weevil  is  so  like  another, 
it  would  be  an  important  help  if  you  would  kindly  verify  my 
identification  for  me. 

In  the  same  little  bottle  are  two  small  not-far-from-globose 
pubescent  beetles,  which  I  thought  might  be  Niphis  holo- 
lencuSy  but  when  they  came  clean  I  saw  they  had  not  the 
beautiful  bright  yellow  pubescence,  nor  were  they  so  globose. 
I  do  not  know  them ;  you  probably  will  at  a  glance,  and  your 


1897.]  CONSULTATION    CONTINUED  263 

kind  help  would  save  me  long  search.  Amongst  the  larvae 
I  found  one  answering  to  that  of  Cticujus  testaceus  (as  given 
in  Curtis)  =  Lcemophloeus  ferrugitieiis — and  in  the  flour  there 
were  numbers  of  the  minute  rusty  little  beetles  of  which  I 
enclose  some  in  a  corked  bottle.  Will  these  be  Cucujus 
ferrugineus  ?  I  do  not  think  I  have  any  types,  and  as  this 
is  such  a  decided  business  inquiry,  I  feel  sure  you  will 
allow  me  to  ask  you  to  keep  me  right  about  it,  at  your  con- 
venience. The  flour  or  barrels  or  something  must  have 
been  (to  my  thinking)  in  a  very  neglected  state. 

October  11,  1897. 
I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  your  kind  help  about  the 
flour  coleoptera.  I  was  puzzled  about  the  granarius,  as  there 
was  a  slightly  dififerent  look  about  it,  from  the  specimens 
which  I  usually  have,  and  I  had  no  series  for  comparison. 
I  have  never  had  Lcemophloeus  in  this  quantity  before, — they 
run  in  all  directions  out  of  the  flour.  I  cannot  find  another 
Ptinus,  but  the  information  you  have  given  me  is  quite 
enough,  I  am  sure,  for  my  flour  people.  The  really  impor- 
tant attack  that  they  have  got  is  E,  kiihniella  (Flour  moth) 
but  as  the  flour  is  in  barrels  perhaps  it  will  not  trouble  them 

I  have  kept  my  X.  saxeseni  (Shot-borer  beetles),  in  a  good- 
sized  glass-topped  box,  where  the  larvae  are  still  throwing  out 
dust  and  the  beetles  come  out  and  die,  but  I  do  not  see  any 
more,  and  I  think  that  instead  of  giving  you  more  trouble 
about  them  I  had  better  get  Mr.  Knight  to  copy  one  of  the 
U.S.A.  imagos  and  add  larvae,  pupae,  and  strange  "cleft" 
like  cell  from  life.  If  the  specimens  you  have  are  of  interest 
to  you  pray  oblige  me  by  keeping  them.  I  think  I  have 
material  for  a  really  interesting  paper.  Do  you  happen  to  know 
what  has  become  of  my  very  much  valued  correspondent. 
Dr.  Karl  Lindeman  [the  Russian  Entomologist]  ?  1  have 
not  heard  from  him  for  a  year  and  a  half,  and  I  do  not  find 
his  name  in  the  U.S.A.  Scientists'  Guide.  He  was  truly 
friendly  and  very  punctilious  in  writing,  but  if  he  were  dead 
I  think  I  should  have  seen  his  obituary.  I  wonder  whether 
he  was  so  useful  to  the  people  that  he  has  had  to  take  a  trip 
to  Siberia  ! 

October  26,  1897. 

What  work  Hylurgus  piniperda  (Pine  beetle),^  continues  to 
make  in  some  of  the  great  Pine  woods  in  Scotland,  conse- 
quent on  the  damage  by  high  winds  some  years  ago.     I  had 

^  With  one  possible  exception  the  most  destructive  beetle  of  British 
forestry. 


264  LETTERS   TO   MR.  JANSON       [Chap.  xxii. 

an  application  a  little  while  ago  from  the  forester  on  one  of 
the  great  properties  near  Aberdeen,  who  reports  great  mis- 
chief on  1,000  acres.  This  afternoon  I  have  a  report  of  the 
woods  at  Craighlaw,  Kirkcowan,  Wigtonshire,  being  in  most 
dismal  condition. 

I  really  wonder  whether  it  will  ever  occur  to  our  Board 
of  Agriculture  that  there  ought  to  be  a  Government  Ento- 
mologist. It  is  only  a  short  time  since  I  had  an  application 
connected  with  the  Austrian  Embassy  about  a  beetle  attack 
that  was  eating  the  oats  at  Constantinople,  but  I  suggested 
that  Vienna  was  unsurpassed  for  its  scientific  men  ! 

August  18,  1899. 

I  am  thinking  (though  I  have  not  mentioned  the  matter 
beyond  just  beginning  at  present)  of  (if  I  can  find  it)  taking 
a  comfortable  villa  and  good  garden  at  or  in  the  outskirts  of 
Brighton.  I  much  wish  to  be  nearer  relations,  for  living  so 
much  alone  is  at  times  a  very  dreary  kind  of  thing.  Also 
there  are  many  points  in  which  Brighton  would,  I  think, 
suit  me  better  for  my  work,  and  possibly  be  more  con- 
veniently easy  of  access  for  entomological  friends  living 
on  the  South  London  lines.  I  know  the  place  very  well, 
and  it  has  always  suited  my  health  excellently. 

September  19,  1899. 

I  have  a  Hippoboscid  this  afternoon  from  Mr.  Wheler,  which 
was  found  on  a  lamb.  He  thinks  it  is  a  Grouse  fly  (or 
Spider  fly,  a  near  relative  of  the  Forest  fly).  Surely  oddly 
located  !  But  so  far  as  I  see  I  think  it  must  be  so.  Shall  I 
not  send  it  you  ?  In  any  case  it  might  be  of  interest,  and  I 
should  very  much  like,  at  your  convenience,  to  be  made  sure 
of  what  it  is.  If  it  be  Ornithomyia  aviciilaria  (Grouse  fly),  I 
conjecture  that  it  straggled  into  the  nearest  shelter  when  it 
developed.  It  is  in  beautiful  order,  but  so  lively  that  I  have 
not  been  able  to  get  a  good  look  at  the  claws.  [This  identi- 
fication was  confirmed  by  Mr.  Janson.] 

September  22,  1899. 

I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  all  the  points  of  interesting 
information  in  your  letter.  There  is  no  hurry  about  figur- 
ing the  Grouse  fly,  so  that  if  Mr.  Norman  would  kindly  let 
me  have  the  slide  as  soon  as  he  thinks  it  would  be  safe  to 
use  it,  I  should  feel  very  much  obliged.  I  now  enclose  the 
specimen  from  a  lamb.  I  quieted  its  very  superabundant 
antics  by  slipping  a  little  lump  of  cotton  wool  down  the 
tube,  about  a  third  of  the  way,  and  it  accepted  the  soft 
material  moderately.  It  died  afterwards,  and  I  enclose  it 
with  some  spirits  in  the  tube.     I  should  (if  not  inconvenient 


i899.] 


REFERENCE   WORK 


265 


to  you  to  ask),  very  much  like  this  specimen  also  set  by  Mr. 
Norman,  with  the  wings  as  they  are  at  present — at  rest,  but 
showing  the  fore-nerves  very  nicely.  I  incline  to  think 
that  if  this  be  certainly  0.  avlcnlaria,  that  it  would  suit  better 
for  figuring  than  the  previous  specimen  as  being  in  the  same 
position  as  my  H.  equina  and  L.  cervi,  both  ^  and  $  in 
previous  Annual  Reports.  If  you  could  oblige  me  with  the 
two  slides  together  I  could  make  what  personal  observations 
I  want ;  have  which  ever  seems  best  figured,  and  afterwards, 
if  one  or  both  are  of  interest  to  you,  I  would  very  gladly  beg 
your  acceptance.     I  daresay  you  will  be  good  enough  to  let 


I,  Grouse  fly,  magnified,  with  line  showing  natural  length  ;  2,  pupa- 
rium,  magnified  and  natural  size  ;  3,  end  view,  magnified  ;  4,  claw, 
magnified. 

FIG.   69. — GROUSE   FLY,   ORNITHOMYIA  AVICULARIA,   LINN. 


me  use  your  interesting  short  note  about  finding  the  speci- 
men of  avicidaria  alive  in  the  box  with  the  Horned  owl. 

I  am  working  now  on  Piophila  easel,  Linn.  (Cheese  and 
Bacon  fly,  fig.  12),  and  hope  to  make  a  good  paper,  with 
some  original  observations  of  my  own.  Is  it  not  a  note- 
worthy circumstance  that  besides  undoubtedly  breeding  in 
myriads  in  stores  of  cheese  and  bacon,  that  also  they  come 
in  through  the  windows  in  such  numbers  that  wire  gauze,  or 
equivalent,  is  a  recognised  protective  measure  ?  I  think  this 
points  to  there  being  some  home  of  P.  caset  that  wants  look- 
ing up. 


266  LETTERS   TO   MR.   JANSON      [Chap.  xxii. 

I  did  think  Brighton  might  suit  me  better,  but  I  found 
there  was  no  suitable  house,  so  I  am  staying  here.  I 
am  very  glad  that  you  had  a  pleasant  rest,  and  a  bene- 
ficial one. 

October  21,  1899. 

Messrs.  Forshaw  and  Hawkins,  of  Liverpool,  have  written 
me  regarding  beetle  and  maggot  presence  in  flour  and  meal 
in  two  compartments  of  *'  Telesford,"  from  New  Orleans  to 
Glasgow.  They  send  me  **  a  deal  of "  ^  report  and  two  tubes 
with  beetles,  larvae  and  flour.  I  believe  these  beetles 
(and  larvae)  to  be  Triboliiim  ferrugineuin  (Rust-red  flour 
beetle),  and  1  enclose  four  beetles  and  six  maggots.  Will 
you  be  so  very  good  as  to  let  me  know  if  I  am  right,  and  I 
enclose  a  telegraph  form  filled  in,  which  would  put  me  at 
ease  for  the  present  if  you  would  be  good  enough  to  send  it 
to  me.     The  reason  I  am  troubling  you  now  is  that  the  small 


2 

I,  Beetle  ;  2,  larva;  3,  pupa — magnified,  and  with  lines  showing  natural 
length  ;  4,  head  with  antennae,  much  magnified. 

FIG.   70. — RUST-RED   FLOUR   BEETLE,    TRJBOLIUM  FERRUGINEUM,   FAB. 

amount  of  flour  in  the  little  tubes  has  the  characteristic 
(mentioned  in  Mr.  Chittenden's  paper  in  "  Household 
Insects,"  &c.,  in  a  Bulletin  of  U.S.A.)  of  being  greyish.  See 
top  of  p.  113  as  to  ^' Flour  Beetles." 

This  is  quite  different  from  the  state  of  Messrs.  Smyth  and 
Co.'s  flour,  and  if  you  are  so  good  as  to  confirm  my  identifi- 
cation I  might  perhaps  be  allowed  to  use  the  information  on 
our  side  on  Tuesday,  when  Mr.  Blyth  comes  down  about 
depositions.  The  Glasgow  case  has  every  appearance  of 
being  on  the  road  to  a  lawsuit,  but  now  (after  Friday's 
experience)  I  should  not  be  so  afraid  of  giving  evidence, 
if  you  would  make  me  sure. 

'  A  favourite  West  Country  expression  of  Miss  Ormerod. 


1899.]      CONFIRMATION   OF   IDENTIFICATION  267 

November  i,  1899. 

I  received  the  Grouse  fly  slide  in  perfect  safety,  beauti- 
fully put  up  ;  many  thanks  to  you  for  procuring  the  same. 
If  at  your  very  best  convenience  you  would  settle  my  debt 
to  Mr.  Norman  for  his  help,  I  should  be  greatly  obliged.  I 
am  getting  into  your  debt  assuredly  also,  but  whilst  I  am 
troubling  you,  thanks  to  these  infested  cargo  people,  I  think 
I  had  better  let  this  stand  over.  It  is  very  weary  work 
getting  up  information  in  this  minute  way,  and  as  matter 
of  choice  I  had  rather  be  without  a  visit[ation]  from  six 
professional  gentlemen  and  a  shorthand  writer  all  at  once  1 

I  have  had  a  beautiful  specimen  of  workings  in  willow  of 
Cryptorhynchus  lapathi  beetle. 


i:CK 


Beetle,  natural  size  and  magnified  ;  willow  stem,  tunnelled  by  larvae. 

FIG.   71. — MOTTLED   WILLOW  WEEVIL,    '*  ALDER-KILLER  "    (GERMAN), 
CRYPTORHYNCHUS  LAPATHI^   L. 

December  29,  1899. 
Many  thanks  for  a  sight  of  Mr.  Fuller's  letter  (returned 
enclosed).  I  have  enjoyed  reading  it  very  much  ;  it  is  so 
interesting  to  have  a  real  letter  about  the  war,  not  made  up 
"for  press."  I  worked  myself  nearly  stupid  in  running  up 
the  habits  of  the  Calandra  mentioned  in  ''  Insect  Life,"  and 
there  was  some  such  roguery  somewhere  or  other  about  the 
mate's  report,  which  he  stated  afterwards  was  written  under 
intimidation,  that  I  felt  a  little  uneasy  about  having  anything 
to  do  with  the  matter. 


268 


LETTERS  TO   MR.   JANSON      [Chap.  xxii. 


January  12,  1900. 
I  have  lately  had  an  application  about  "  White  Ants " 
being  destructive  to  young  Cocoa  trees  in  Ceylon.  I  do 
not  know  much  about  the  great  hill-building  Termites  as 
plant  eaters,  but  I  thought  that  probably  exposing  just  the 
couple  of  inches  or  so  subject  to  be  gnawed,  to  the  light 
might  be  useful. 

September  16,  igcx). 
I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  all  the  trouble  you 


Caterpillar  (not  full  grown)  and  chrysalis. 

) 


FIG.   72. — GOAT   MOTH,    COSSUS  LIGNIPERDA. 

have  kindly  taken  in  identifying  the  BnicJil  for  me,  but  on 
running  the  matter  up  there  does  not  seem  to  be  the  least 
reason  to  suppose  that  these  creatures  had  more  to  do  with 
the  barley  than  that  they  had  strayed  into  it  from  beans,  of 
which  I  find  on  special  inquiry  that  the  steamer  carried  also 
a  consignment  ''  in  the  same  hold."  I  wrote  to  the  impor- 
ters (or  rather  my  applicants  wrote  to  them  on  my  part)  and 
I  received  a  small  consignment  of  the  very  identical  beans 


1900.] 


GOAT   MOTH   AND   WEEVILS 


269 


from  them  (from  Hull),  and  most  of  these  I  now  enclose  to 
you,  as  I  thought  you  might  care  to  see  if  anything  of 
interest  would  develop.  The  specimens  in  the  little  bottle, 
including  one  or  two  hymenopterous  parasites,  are  also  from 
the  beans. 

In  a  little  box  with  the  beans  is  a  fine  specimen  of  the 
Goat  moth,  Cossns  ligniperda,  larva,  which  is  very  diligently 
spinning.^  I  have  been  much  interested  in  watching  the 
way  it  thickens  its  beginning  of  lacework  web.     I  believe 


Bntcliiis  hrachialis.     Bvuchus  tristis.       Bruchiis  rufipes. 


Bniclnis  pisoniin=pisi.     Bntchiis  rufimanns. 
Magnified,  with  lines  showing  natural  length. 

FIG.   73.— PEA  AND   BEAN   WTEEVILS,   BRUCHI. 


(unless  the  top  specimen  has  eaten  it !)  that  there  is  another 
larva  at  the  bottom. 

September  2.'}^^  19CX). 
I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  these  nicely  set  Bruchiy 
and  I  do  not  think  it  would  be  at  all  out  of  place,  although 
two  of  the  species  are  not  British,  to  give  figures  of  the  three 
kinds  {hrachialiSy  rufipes,  and  tristis)  as  found  in  a  cargo  in- 
cluding beans  and  wild  peas  from  Smyrna,  together  with 

'  The  caterpillars  of  the  Goat  moth  feed  in  poplar,  willow,  elm,  oak, 
lime,  and  beech,  as  well  as  in  apple,  pear,  walnut,  and  other  trees. 
(E.  A.  O.) 


270 


LETTERS   TO   MR.   JANSON      [Chap.  xxii. 


barley.  (The  consignees  were  very  much  puzzled  about 
them.)  I  also  found  nifimamis  in  one  of  the  beans  which 
I  was  opening,  a  lovely  specimen,  so  perfect  in  its  marking. 
But  now,  if  you  please,  I  very  much  wish  for  a  little  further 
help.  I  cannot  find  any  reference  to  bracliialis  or  tristis  in 
any  book  I  possess,  excepting  just  the  names  in  Calwer's 
"  Kaferbuch." 

I  have  been  not  a  little  disappointed  about  ScolyUis  prtini, 
I  found  nice  larvae  in  a  piece  of  plum  bark  with  this  infesta- 
tion, and  had  a  good  figure  taken,  but  I  kept  on  watching 
the  small  number  of  specimens  to  be  fairly  certain  of  species. 


.^^-^ 


I  and  2,  Bi'uchus  rufimanus^  natural  size  and  magnified  ;  3,  infested 
bean  split  open,  showing  cell ;  4  and  5,  larvae,  natural  size  and  magni- 
fied ;  6  and  7,  pupae,  natural  size  and  magnified  ;  8,  bean,  injured  by 
beetle,  vegetating  ;  9  and  10,  Brnchns  pisi,  natural  size  and  magnified  ; 
II,  injured  pea. 

FIG.  74. — BEAN   BEETLES. 


and  to  my  vexation  on  development  out  came  one  as  rugu- 
losus  I 

With  many  thanks  for  your  welcome  and  valuable  help. 

October^,  1900. 

I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  lending  me  the  two 

vols,  of  ^^  Deutsche  Ent.  Zeit.,"  which  will   help   me  very 

much  about  those  Bruchidce — and  more  particularly  with  the 

specific  distinctions  which  you  have  been  good  enough  to 


I900.]  BEAN    BEETLES  271 

give  me.     I  will  try  not  to  keep  the  books  over-long,  and 
will  return  them  carefully  packed. 

November  i,  1900. 

Is  it  of  interest  to  you  (in  case  that  you  have  not  heard)  to 
know  of  the  decease,  on  the  13th  of  October,  of  Professor 
Josef  Mik,  of  Vienna,  after  a  short  illness  ?  I  shall  miss 
him,  for  he  was  a  friendly  colleague,  and  was  good  enough 
to  send  me  a  little  collection  of  types  of  Tahanidce  which 
have  been  a  great  help. 

I  was  rather  perplexed  how  to  name  these  three  newly- 
imported  species  of  Bruchus,  but  for  want  of  a  better  I 
thought  that  sad-coloured  bean-seed  weevil,  B.  tristis ;  red- 
footed  bean-seed  weevil,  B.  rufipes;  and  red-horned  •  bean- 
seed  weevil,  B.  ruficornis  [  =  brachialis']  would  do  fairly. 

Yours  very  truly. 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 


EC.K. 


Beetle  and  wing,  magnified  ;  line  showing  natural  length  of  beetle. 

FIG.   75. — "splint,"    ok   sap-wood   BEETLE,   SCOLYTUS  PRUNI,   RATZ. 

To  J.  C.  Meddy  Esq,y  Strattotiy  Cirencester, 

TORRINGTON    HOUSE,   St.  AlBANS, 

March  12,  1900. 
Dear  Mr.  Medd, — I  am  much  obliged  by  the  packet  of 
publications  regarding  the  work  of  the  '^Agricultural  Educa- 
tion Committee,"^  and  I  note  excellent  names  in  your  list  of 
members,  and  some  excellently  true  observations  in  your 
four-page  leaflet,  "Agricultural  Instruction  in  the  Elemen- 
tary School."  But  it  is  with  great  difficulty  that  I  am  able 
to  keep  my  own  work  in  hand,  and  I  have  been  quite  unable 
to  find  time  to  study  the  other  pamphlets  which  you  have 
been  good  enough  to  send  me,  although,  from  their  titles, 

'  The  Agricultural  Education  Committee,  10,  Queen  Anne's  Gate, 
Westminster,  S.W.,  was  formed  in  the  autumn  of  1899,  with  Sir  W. 
Hart-Dyke,  Bart.,  M.P.,  as  Chairman,  and  the  Rt.  Hon.  Henry 
Hobhouse,  M.P.,  as  Hon,  Secretary.  (J.  C.  M.) 


2^2  LETTERS  TO   MR.   MEDD       [Chap.  xxii. 

I  make  no  doubt  that  they  contain  both  valuable  information 
and  suggestion. 

Although  I  am  sure  that  plain  and  interesting  information 
on  subjects  of  their  daily  surroundings  would  be  gladly 
received  by  the  boys,  I  do  not  in  the  least  see  my  way  to 
complying  with  your  flattering  suggestion  of  my  pen  being 
useful  in  the  matter.  You  know  how  I  am  situated  ?  There 
is  a  constant  stream  of  applications  sent  me  for  advice 
regarding  prevention  of  insect  pests,  which  though  chiefly 
about  British  troubles,  involves  much  correspondence  both 
with  the  Entomologists  of  our  Colonies,  the  Continent  and 
the  U.S.A. — and  to  meet  which  I  have  no  staff.  I  could  not 
find  time  to  write  papers  such  as  you  desire  ;  but  if  you  wish 
I  would  send  you  copies  of  such  leaflets  as  I  have  in  which 
some  of  the  ordinary  crop  pests  are  treated  of  very  plainly ; 
and  from  these  I  make  no  doubt  that  you  could  get  passages 
arranged  for  your  readers  which  the  boys  would  like  to  read. 

July  9,  1900. 

It  gratifies  me  very  much  that  you  should  think  my  leaflets 
and  ^*  Manual "  likely  to  be  of  use  ;  and  you  have  only  to 
express  the  wish,  for  me  to  send  another  hundred  of  the 
^'  Manuals  "  as  soon  as  they  could  be  bound.  I  have  been 
reading  and  much  appreciating  your  observations  in  "  Our 
Programme,"  ^  of  which  you  have  kindly  given  me  a  copy, 
and  it  has  occurred  to  me  whether,  now  that  I  understand 
the  scope  of  your  work  better,  I  might  arrange  a  very  simple 
paper  on  our  commonest  Live  Stock  attacks.  I  enclose  a  few 
pages  as  a  sample  of  what  is  in  my  mind,  just  giving  what 
could  be  taken  in  (and  I  think  is  needed)  with  addition  of  a 
little  more  life  history,  and  the  exceedingly  simple  methods 
of  prevention.  I  have  quantities  of  first-rate  illustrations, 
but  now  I  just  submit  the  enclosed  to  you,  hoping  you  will 
be  kind  enough  to  let  me  know  at  your  convenience  what 
you  think  of  my  idea. 

July  14,  1900. 

I  am  personally  truly  grateful  for  your  letter  of  this  morn- 
ing, for  I  was  very  uneasy  lest  I  should  be,  to  put  it  shortly, 
giving  sad  offence.  I  certainly  think  the  '^Water-baby"  2 
leaflet  is  a  great  mistake,  but,  as  you  judiciously  remark,  if  it 
is  to  be  issued  we  must  make  the  best  of  it. 

I  will  think  over  to  the  best  of  my  power  what  appears 

'  One  of  the  leaflets  issued  by  the  Agricultural  Education  Committee. 
=  Another  leaflet  of  the  series  issued  by  the  Agricultural  Education 
Committee,  but  one  which  Miss  Ormerod  did  not  appreciate. 


I900.]         AGRIC.   EDUCATION   COMMITTEE  273 

likely  to  be  of  use  agriculturally  on  the  subject  of  fly-attacks 
on  farm-stock.  Whilst  I  am  preparing  the  papers  themselves 
perhaps  a  good  heading  such  as  I  may  presently  submit  for 
approval  will  suggest  itself.  I  should  much  like  to  have  the 
primary  heading  ''  Agricultural  Education  Committee,"  for — 
with  a  footnote  that  the  papers  were  prepared  at  the  desire 
of  the  Agricultural  Education  Committee  to  give  informa- 
tion— this  would  throw  a  shield  over  me,  in  writing  on  Cattle 
and  Stock  attacks.  The  ones  selected  do  not  infringe  on 
what  might  be  called  *'  Veterinary  " — things  that  involve  dis- 
cussion unbecoming  in  a  lady  writer,  and  those  I  propose 
to  write  on  are  what  I  have  long  had  application  about. 
There  need  be  no  difficulty  about  publishing  if  I  do  it  in 
my  usual  way. 

August  2,  1900. 

After  your  visit,  so  pleasant  as  well  as  profitable  to  myself 
yesterday,  I  sat  down  as  soon  as  I  could  to  see  what  I  could 
write  about  ^'  Wasps,"  and  I  enclose  the  results.  It  is  mostly 
an  abstract  of  records  of  much  personal  observation  of  my 
own.  If  you  like  I  would  gladly  lend  electros  of  the  figures.^ 
If  you  care  to  accept  the  enclosed  for  any  use  to  our  Agri- 
cultural Education  Committee  that  you  may  think  it  may 
be  suited,  I  should  be  really  pleased,  only  begging  that  it 
may  not  on  any  account  whatever  appear  as  part  of  the 
'^Water-baby"  series— that  really  I  do  not  think  I  could 
bear. 

August  8,  1900. 

I  thank  you  very  heartily  for  your  courteous  reception 
of  my  letter  about  resignation.  It  is  very  good  of  you  to 
write  so  kindly  on  the  subject.  I  enclose  you  a  copy  of  the 
letter  which  I  have  sent  to  the  Secretary,  which  I  have 
endeavoured  to  express  with  the  friendlmess  which  I  feel. 
But,  much  as  I  regret  leaving,  I  find  that,  independently  of 
the  considerations  which  I  told  to  you,  when  I  come  to  the 
real  working  my  health  does  not  allow  it.  If  I  am  over- 
pressed  it  brings  on  (without  being  unduly  explicit)  troubles 
both  of  health  and  sight,  and  I  am  very  thankful  that, 
beyond  your  exceedingly  kind  expressions,  you  do  not 
press  my  remaining  too  hardly  on  me. 

November  26,  1900. 
Many    thanks    to    you    for    Mr.     Bathurst's    paper    on 

'  The  paper  on  "  Wasps "  was  lent  by  Mr.  Medd  to  Mr.  Chas. 
Roundell  who  incorporated  it  in  his  unique  little  volume,  the  Rural 
Reader,  Horace  Marshall  &  Co.  (Ed.). 

19 


274  LETTERS  TO   MR.   MEDD        [Chap.  xxii. 

*'  Orchards ; "  ^  there  is  some  excellent  advice  in  it,  parti- 
cularly about  sawing  beneath  the  limb,  trimming  smooth, 
and  not  planting  deep.  But  I  think  that  as  the  piece  of 
cloth  to  be  tied  round  the  tree  is  to  "  act  as  a  trap,"  a  little 
addition  is  needed  (see  my  "  Insects  Injurious  to  Orchard 
and  Bush  Fruit,"  pp.  12,  13),  viz.,  that  the  trap  should  be 
examined  and  the  caterpillars  cleared  out  every  few  days, 
or  say  every  fortnight.  If  this  be  not  done  the  sacking  is 
very  likely  to  make  a  nice  little  house  for  them.  Please 
excuse  my  giving  my  views  thus  vigorously,  and  uncalled 
for.     Yours  very  truly, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 

'  Issued  by  the  Agricultural  Education  Committee. 


CHAPTER   XXIII 

LETTERS   TO    PROFESSOR   ROBERT   WALLACE   BEFORE    19OO 

Washing  Wheat — Text-book  on  Insects — Grease-banding  Trees — Steven 
Lecturer  on  Agricultural  Entomology — Australian  agriculture — Examiner 
in  Agricultural  Entomology — Insect  cases  presented  to  the  University — 
Death  of  Miss  G.  E.  Ormerod. 

The  four  remaining  chapters,  consisting  chiefly  of  letters 
addressed  to  the  editor,  are  of  a  more  general,  less  technical 
nature  than  those  that  go  before.  They  deal  more  with 
University  and  personal  matters,  and  with  efforts  being 
made  to  advance  the  cause  of  Economic  Entomology  than 
with  the  structural  details  and  habits  of  insects. 

To  Professor  Robert  Wallace^  University  of  Edinburgh. 

TORRINGTON  HoUSE,  St.  ALBANS, 

August  20,  1888. 

Dear  Professor  Wallace, — I  have  delayed  for  a  short 
time  thanking  you  for  your  very  kind  present  of  your 
beautiful  as  well  as  valuable  boQk  on  '^  Indian  Agriculture,"  ^ 
as  I  wished  to  make  a  little  acquaintance  with  it  before 
writing.  Now  I  see  what  a  great  amount  of  serviceable 
information  you  have  collected,  and  I  am  greatly  obliged 
for  such  an  addition  to  my  library.  I  note  what  you  wisely 
say  about  not  substituting  our  implements  hastily  for  native 
kinds  better  fitted  to  the  land,  but  just  now  your  explicit 
account  of  'Svheat  cleaning,"  beginning  at  p.  227,  interests 
me  exceedingly.  I  should  be  so  glad  if,  when  you  have 
leisure,  you  would  tell  me  a  little  more  about  this.  You 
mention  Messrs.  Dell  and  Son,  of  London,  as  the  firm  that 
specially  gave  you  information.  I  have  been  in  communi- 
cation about  cleaning  wheat  with  some  of  the  Hull  millers, 
one  of  the  large  corn  brokers  in  Liverpool,  and  some  other 

'  India  in  iSSj.     Published  by  Oliver  and  Boyd. 

275 


276     LETTERS  TO  PROFESSOR  WALLACE  [Chap,  xxiii. 

places,  and  had  not  heard  of  the  washing,  and  this  point,  to 
me  at  least,  seems  a  very  important  one.  When  I  have 
gone  carefully  into  the  subject,  and  had  the  different  kinds 
of  screening  sent  in  bags  they  do  not  seem  to  me  to  have 
been  wetted.  If  they  can  wash  at  one  mill  they  can  at 
another,  and  we  might  have  a  chance  of  getting  these  pest- 
bearing  extras  neutralised  as  to  evil  qualities.  I  should 
greatly  like  to  show  you  my  set  of  screenings  from  Hull, 
labelled  with  their  uses. 

Do  you  happen  to  be  aware  of  its  being  a  regular  business 
to  supply  weed  seed,  &c.,  &c.,  to  deteriorate  imports — that 
is  of  course  exports  of  Russia,  &c.  ?  I  had  an  interview 
with  one  of  a  firm  who  used  to  take  orders  for  this  at 
Samara  !  I  believe  these  foul  screenings  most  likely 
brought  Hessian  fly,  and  I  rather  think  from  a  larva  I  saw 
in  the  spring  Meromyza  is  come  too. 

It  appears  to  me  a  deplorable  thing  that  everything  should 
be  so  absolutely  arranged  to  import  these  nasty  pests  amongst 
us.  If  you  will  come  I  will  show  you  my  "  pieces  demon- 
stratives." I  have  not  a  book  like  yours  to  reciprocate  your 
kind  thought,  but  will  you  give  the  enclosed  •'  Manual  of 
Injurious  Insects"  a  place  in  your  collection.  With  kind 
remembrances  from  my  sister. 

November  12,  1889. 

About  a  text-book  on  Injurious  Insects — it  is  not  well  to 
recommend  one's  own  work,  but  I  most  earnestly  wish  that 
I  knew  of  any  better  English  book  for  plain  work  than  my 
own  ^^  Manual."  I  formed  it  because  there  was  no  other  book 
that  met  the  everyday  needs  of  Agricultural  Entomology, 
excepting  my  own  Annual  Reports,  and  the  Reports  of 
the  Department  of  Agriculture,  which  are  formed  in  great 
part  from  my  work  and  revised  by  myself.  I  do  not  know 
of  any  work  on  Agricultural  Entomology  which  I  can 
recommend. 

If  you  want  something  very  good  about  the  lower  crea- 
tures up  to  date  I  suppose  you  could  not  mend  ''  Text  Book 
of  Zoology,"  by  Dr.  Glaus,  translated  by  Adam  Sedgwick. 
This  is  a  grand  book,  but  I  would  not  put  it  in  my  students' 
hands  without  a  strong  observation  that  I  consider  Dar- 
winianism,  &c.,  of  this  nature  perfectly  unproved  and 
baseless.  I  certainly  think  that  presently  this  view  w^ill 
follow  ^'  spontaneous  generation."  ^  But  to  go  on,  Curtis' 
*'  Farm  Insects"  is  an  excellent  book  up  to  date  of  publica- 

'  Miss  Ormerod  did  not  latterly  oppose  Darwinianism,  but  we  are  not 
aware  that  she  ever  accepted  it.  (Ed.). 


1889.]  TEXT   BOOKS  ON   ENTOMOLOGY  277 

tion,  but  that  is  long  ago  now,  and  the  second  edition  is  an 
issue  of  the  original  sheets  with  a  new  preface — also  £1  is. 
is  a  great  deal  for  students  to  give.  If  you  want  a  book  for 
your  own  study,  ^' Die  Praktische  Insektenkunde,"  by 
Dr.  Taschenberg  is  to  my  thinking  unrivalled  for  practice 
and  science — price  circa  £1  4s. 

Now  about  your  Australian  larvae.  The  longer  and 
larger  is  a  lepidopterous  caterpillar  ;  as  far  as  I  see  nearly 
allied  to  our  Turnip  caterpillar,  that  is  to  say,  of  much  the 
same  nature  as  what  we  call  Surface  caterpillar  here,  and 
Cut-worms  in  America.  This  would  probably  turn  to  a  good- 
sized  moth.  The  larvae  in  the  two  other  bottles  appear  to  me 
to  be  beetle  grubs,  of  the  Lainellicornes — you  will  notice  the 
three  pairs  of  well-developed  legs,  and  the  peculiar  swollen 
form  of  the  caudal  extremity.  I  should  suppose  that  like 
our  Cockchafer  (figs.  58)  (or  some  other  Chafer)  maggots, 
that  they  fed  at  the  roots  of  grass  or  other  plants,  but  I 
should  not  like  to  commit  myself  to  giving  even  a  generic 
name  to  exotic  pests  in  lar.val  state.  Would  not  a  letter  to 
Mr.  Frazer  Crawford,  Adelaide,  be  the  best  way  to  gain 
information  about  prevention  ?  And  about  figuring,  if  you 
sent  specimens  to  Messrs.  West,  Newman  &  Co.,  54,  Hatton 
Garden,  London,  E.C.,  they  would  get  them  well  figured — 
but  still  as  the  grubs  and  caterpillar  have  been  so  long  in 
spirit  the  exact  shape  could  not  be  conveyed. 

I  am  delighted  to  hear  that  you  are  making  progress 
about  attention  to  insect  pests  in  your  University.  When 
Professor  Harker^  was  here  lately,  he  told  us  something 
about  these  matters,  and  I  cordially  wished  him  the  post 
of  lecturer. 

November  25,  1889. 

I  drew  attention  carefully  in  my  first  ofBcial  report  at 
the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England  (when  the 
Committee  began  again  in  November)  to  the  need  of 
caution  [in  connection  with  Codlin  moth  prevention]  as  to 
the  adulteration  that  there  might  be  in  so-called  cart-grease, 
and  also  to  the  success  of  the  plan  of  before  greasing 
putting  paper  round  the  trees.  On  the  first  glance  it  might 
seem  doubtful  whether  papering  was  not  one  of  the  "study" 
applications  which  there  are  too  many  of,  but  it  answers  so 
well,  that  at  the  great  Toddington  Fruit  Grounds  the 
managers  told  me  they  were  treating  120,000  trees  in  this 
way.  The  paper  is  what  is  used  by  grocers  as  "grease 
proof."     It  is  passed  in  a  broad  band  round  the  tree,  and 

'  See  note  ante  p.  79. 


278     LETTERS  TO  PROFESSOR  WALLACE   [Chap,  xxiii. 

the  overlapping  ends  fastened  by  paste  and  a  band  of  bass 
mat  or  anything  of  that  kind  tied  round  to  make  sure  of  all 
being  firm,  and  on  this  the  "  grease  "  is  spread  with  a  thin 
bit  of  wood — a  sort  of  paper  knife  in  fact.  This  kind  of 
paper  would,  I  should  conjecture,  be  more  certain  to 
prevent  the  grease,  &c.,  soaking  into  the  tree  than  cloth. 
I  have  lately  received  copies  of  analyses  of  two  or  three 
kinds  of  cart  grease  which  prove  (in  one  case)  to  consist  of 
grease  and  tar  oils  mixed  with  water  and  sulphate  of  lime. 
This  did  harm.  Another  consisted  mainly  of  rosin  oil,  &c., 
mixed  with  a  little  carbonate  of  lime.  This,  I  believe, 
answered  quite  well.  I  do  not  know  how  better  to  guard 
against  mishaps  than  by  starting  the  very  earliest  intelligence 
of  important  points  round  the  newspapers  as  soon  as  ever  1 
can  ;  but  you  will  believe  me  it  is  difficult  to  meet  all  sides. 
A  Kentish  correspondent  wrote  me  that  he  was  preparing 
his  trees  for  dressing  by  cutting  all  the  old  bark  off  and  then 
was  going  to  tar  on  the  fresh  surface  !  If  you  would 
mention  to  your  correspondent  that  my  report  of  this  month 
is  in  the  ^^Agricultural  Gazette  "for  November  i8th,  and  that 
he  would  find  some  special  cautions  about  grease  banding  at 
p.  501,  column  I,  I  think  he  might  be  interested,  but  if  he 
cares  to  write  to  me  on  the  subject  I  would  gladly  reply,  or 
I  would  with  pleasure  explain  any  point  to  you  that  you 
would  care  to  have  details  of. 

In  the  second  edition  of  my  Manual,  which  I  am  doing 
all  I  properly  can  to  get  time  to  start  through  press,  I  hope 
to  give  the  very  valuable  practical  teaching  of  the  last  two 
years  about  orchard  insect  pest  prevention,  and  I  hope  to 
be  able  to  add  good  results  of  a  special  (very  cheap  and 
very  nasty)  kind  of  fumigation  we  are  going  to  try  next 
spring. 

P.S. — Do  you  see  how  the  ''  I.L.N.  Almanac  has  been 
helping  itself  to  John  Curtis'  figures  and  mine — and  then 
giving  the  credit  to  Mr.  Jabez  Hogg  ?  I  have  had  a  little 
representation  to  make  to  the  editor,  and  an  erratum  slip  is 
to  be  added  to  all  unissued  copies. 

January  21,  1890. 

We  expect  Professor  Harker  here  at  the  end  of  the  week. 
Most  likely  he  will  come  on  here  after  his  lecture  at  the 
Royal  Veterinary  College,  at  4  p.m.  on  Friday  next,  and 
stay  till  Saturday,  so  we  can  bestow  our  best  attention  on 
affairs.  I  wish  I  saw  a  more  hopeful  state  of  things  in  (or 
for)  the  various  matters  [connected  with  entomological 
appointments]. 


1890.]    STEVEN   LECTURES   ON    ENTOMOLOGY        279 

Your  letter  came  a  few  minutes  after  Professor  Fream's 
arrival,  and  we  said  nothing  about  the  lectures  on  Ento- 
mology in  Edinburgh,  but  I  told  him  how  affairs  were 
standing  about  the  Board  of  Agriculture,  and  that  I  had 
recommended  Professor  Barker  in  case  an  entomologist 
was  wanted.  He  was  very  pleasant.  I  have  known  him  so 
long  I  always  like  a  talk  with  him,  and  amongst  other 
points  we  went  over  some  special  work  about  students' 
entomological  examinations,  and  he  left  the  impression  on 
my  mind  that  he  would  convey  the  requisite  kind  of  infor- 
mation for  your  proposed  lectures  very  satisfactorily  to  the 
hearers. 

February  14,  i8go. 

Some  time  ago,  before  I  knew  that  your  University 
Entomological  Lectureship  [Steven  course]  was  in  a  sort 
of  way  private,  I  mentioned  something  about  it  to  Mr. 
James  Fletcher  (Dominion  entomologist),  and  he  is  de- 
lighted with  the  hoped-for  advance.  He  says  how  very 
much,  if  circumstances  had  allowed,  he  should  have  liked 
to  give  the  course.  You  would,  indeed,  have  had  ''  a 
feather  in  your  cap "  if  you  could  have  secured  him. 

What  a  sad  loss  we  all  have  in  Professor  Little. 

April  18,  1890. 

I  return  your  two  lists  marked.  ^  What  you  want  is  a  set 
of  cases  with  models  and  figures  such  as  Mr.  Mosley  arranged 
for  Kew.  I  told  him  he  ought  not  to  sell  at  as  low  a  rate 
as  he  at  first  proposed,  but  I  think  that  if  strong  card  boxes 
were  substituted  for  the  nicely-finished  mahogany  ones, 
he  could  certainly  let  you  have  the  cases  at  7s.  6d.  If  you 
do  not  wish  to  open  the  cases  (excepting  for  very  special 
work),  the  board  on  which  the  exhibits  are  fixed  might  be 
fastened  from  below,  and  thus  the  cost  of  the  beautiful  work 
of  one  half  sliding  perfectly  into  the  other  half  of  the  box 
saved. 

J^uly  21,  1890. 

I  was  lately  down  for  a  few  days  at  Oxford,  and  took  the 
opportunity  of  asking  Professor  Westwood  whether,  if  you 
arranged  to  have  a  course  of  entomological  lectures,  and 
asked  him  to  deliver  them,  there  was  any  chance  of  his 
granting  such  a  favour  ?  I  thought  it  was  too  much  to 
hope  for,  but  I  gained  his  permission  that  you  might  write 
to  him  on  the  subject,  and   I  really  think  that  if  it  were  so 

'  Of   Mosley's  Insect   cases  with  a  view  to   suiting  the  Agriculture 
Department,  Edinburgh  University. 


28o     LETTERS  TO  PROFESSOR  WALLACE    [Chap,  xxiii. 

early  that  there  was  no  fear  of  cold  setting  in,  he  would 
very  likely  undertake  the  set.  Professor  Westwood  is,  as 
Professor  Riley  well  says,  the  ^^  Prince  of  entomologists."  I 
do  not  suppose  any  one  living  has  such  knowledge  extend- 
ing over  all  branches  of  entomology  as  he  has.  He  is  the 
Hope  Professor  of  Zoology  at  Oxford,  so  constantly  in 
practice  of  lecturing  on  his  own  special  subject,  and  very 
fond  of  making  things  clear  to  young  people.  He  has 
attended  greatly  to  the  economic  aspect,  and  if  you  could 
secure  him,  his  lectures  as  the  commencement  of  the 
Agriculture  Entomological  course  would  give  an  eclat  to 
the  series  that  nothing  else  in  the  whole  world  would. 
To  say  he  is  Life  President  of  the  Entomological  Society 
shows  the  respect  he  is  held  in  on  all  hands.  But  you 
would  have  to  be  very  careful  of  the  good  old  man,  for 
he  never  thinks  of  his  82  or  83  years,  and  he  is  not 
strong,  though  much  more  full  of  spirit  than  many  a 
younger  man.  His  address  is  :  Professor  J.  O.  Westwood, 
Walton  Manor,  Woodstock-road,  Oxford.  If  you  write  to 
him  he  will  think  it  over  and  tell  you  his  views. 

July  7,  1891. 

It  is  very  kind  of  you  to  give  me  the  copy  (received  this 
morning)  of  your  beautiful  and  so  very  useful  book. 
[^'Agriculture  and  Rural  Economy  of  Australia  and  New 
Zealand."]  I  have  been  turning  over  a  good  many  pages  so 
as  to  have  some  idea  of  the  contents  before  writing  to  thank 
you,  and  I  cannot  think  how  you  could  manage  to  collect 
all  this  very  serviceable  information  there,  or  find  time  to 
condense  it  into  this  clear,  readable  form  here.  It  is  a  very 
valuable  addition  to  my  library,  and  I  value  it  much  for  its 
own  worth,  as  well  as  your  kind  gift.  How  very  honestly 
indeed  you  have  acknowledged  my  little  Cockchafer  block  ; 
it  is  quite  a  pleasure  to  me  to  have  it  in  your  grand  book. 

I  hope  you  have  escaped  the  influenza,  or  had  it  favour- 
ably. It  has  been  a  serious  visitation  to  us.  My  sister 
and  I,  and  our  housekeeper.  Miss  Hartw^ell,  who  acts  as 
my  amanuensis,  were  all  seriously  laid  up  in  our  beds  at 
once  !  Such  a  time  of  misery,  and  inconvenience  !  I 
should  like  to  write  you  about  sundry  matters  of  interest, 
but  as  very  likely  you  are  on  the  other  side  of  the  world,  I 
had  better  postpone  them. 

Somewhat  Private. 

August  18,  i8q2. 
I  am  very  sorry  to  hear  of  your  trouble  in  the  loss  of 


1895]  AN    ENTOMOLOGICAL   EXPERT  281 

your  brother/  and  with  your  grief,  and  also  the  effects  of 
the  long  hard  run  of  work,  you  must  be  greatly  needing 
a  rest. 

I  hope  and  greatly  desire  to  continue  all  my  work,  Home, 
Colonial,  and  publishing  ;  also  to  act  as  referee  to  our 
Agricultural  Journals  just  as  before,  but  it  is  much  more 
comfortable  working  up  important  points,  to  having  ever- 
lastingly to  be  going  over  a  routine  often  keeping  one  from 
attending  to  what  may  be  of  importance.  Who  will  they 
get  to  take  my  place  [at  the  Royal]  ?  It  seems  to  me  a 
great  pity  that  there  is  not  a  properly  paid  and  competent 
officer  for  the  Board  of  Agriculture  and  R.A.S.E.  I  am 
safe  in  saying  this,  for  I  never  intend  to  take  office  again, 
not  for  any  amount  of  money  that  could  be  offered,  neither 
do  I  mean  to  do  the  work  of  Government  or  Society  under 
the  polite  name  of  ''  kindly  co-operating  !  " 

The  only  person  1  know  who  appears  to  me  to  be  quali- 
fied to  take  the  post  at  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  is  Dr. 
Fream,  and  I  conjecture  that  his  hands  are  much  too  full  to 
allow  it.  Still  I  should  be  glad  if  it  were  so.  Professor 
Harker  has  great  knowledge  of  beetles,  and  indeed,  I  believe, 
of  insect  ways  and  customs  generally,  but  I  should  scarcely 
think  his  tastes  would  lead  him  to  this  sort  of  work. 
However  I  have  nottheleast  idea  what  the  R.A.S.E.  proposes 
to  do. 

March  15,  1895. 

As  the  time  of  your  African  trip  is  drawing  near,  I  am 
just  venturing  to  remind  you,  with  what  pleasure  (if  con- 
sistent with  your  own  convenience)  we  would  see  you 
before  you  go.  There  appears  to  me  to  be  a  Gordian  knot, 
and  a  few  words  (spoken  not  written)  sometimes  are  in- 
valuable on  these  occasions.  I  am  pulling  well  with  the 
European  centres,  but  there  are  places  where,  much  as  I 
regret  it,  co-operation  is  not  going  on,  and  I  think  I  might 
very  likely  get,  as  on  a  previous  occasion,  some  most  useful 
advice  from  yourself. 

April  9,  1895. 

I  am  very  sorry  and  disappointed  to  say  that  I  am  ailing 
and  so  I  do  not  know  whether  in  your  own  hardly  run 
time,  you  would  care  (or  could  at  all  spare  the  while)  to 
run  down  for  an  hour  or  two  on  Thursday.  The  special 
trouble  is  that  lately  a  very  small  bit  of  glass  jerked  up 
from  something  I  was  doing  at  my  right  eye.     I  thought  it 

'  Quintin  MacAdam  Wallace,  M.A.,  a  Graduate  (ist  Class  Honours) 
in  Medicine  and  Surgery  of  Edinburgh  University. 


282     LETTERS  TO  PROFESSOR  WALLACE  [Chap,  xxiii. 

only  hit  the  eye,  but  nearly  a  week  after  I  found  injury 
resulted  from  the  bit  having  embedded  itself  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  eyeball  and  formed  a  small  abscess.  Of  course 
it  had  to  be  operated  on  and  I  hope  put  all  right,  but  the 
very  long,  weary  operation  and  the  cocaine,  &c.,  &c.,  have 
so  tired  everything  concerned  that  1  have  not  got  over  it  all 
yet.  So  I  thought  I  ought  to  tell  you.  What  I  want  to  say 
as  distinguished  from  writing  is  more  in  detail. 

March  19,  1896. 
I  make  no  doubt  that  I  shall  hear  from  our  good  friend 
Dr.  Fream  very  shortly,  or  at  least  as  soon  as  his  much 
occupied  time  permits,  but  meanwhile  I  do  not  like  to  delay 
thanking  you  for  kindly  letting  me  know  that  the  University 
Court  had  paid  me  the  very  gratifying  compliment  of  ap- 
pointing me  co-examiner  with  Dr.  Fream  ^  in  Agricultural 
Entomology.  I  think  myself  much  honoured  and  much 
pleased  also  by  their  selection.  If  I  might  ask  you  to  take 
the  trouble,  and  it  should  be  admissible,  I  should  much  like 
you  to  express  to  the  University  Court  my  grateful  apprecia- 
tion and  assurance  that  I  will  endeavour  to  do  whatever 
may  be  required  in  the  office  to  the  best  of  my  ability. 

March  27,  1896. 

I  am  really  very  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  the  clear  and 
full  explanation  you  have  spared  time  to  give  me,  in  your 
letter  received  this  afternoon,  of  the  arrangement  of  my  co- 
examinership.  It  does  please  me  very  much  to  have  even 
this  little  post,  for  I  look  on  it  as  a  mark  of  approval  of  your 
grand  old  University;  also  I  am  very  glad  that  you  approved 
of  my  letter  to  the  Secretary. 

I  never  knew  the  injurious  insects  so  active  as  they  have 
been  this  winter,  in  air,  earth,  and  water — in  the  latter  to  the 
great  damage  of  watercress  (chap.  XVI.).  I  had  yesterday, 
some  good  specimens  of  great  mischief  from  clover-stem 
sickness  and  for  the  first  time  found  a  nice  way  of  col- 
lecting quantities  of  the  Aiiguillulidce  (eel- worms)  for  obser- 
vation. Generally  they  hide  up  in  the  rubbish,  but  I  found 
that  by  teazing  it  out  very  finely  in  water  on  the  slide  and 
then  carefully  lifting  it  all  away  until  the  slide  looked  bare, 
that  still  such  numbers  of  the  eel-worms  remained  that  they 
could  be  thoroughly  examined. 

'  Dr.  Fream  had  been,  as  a  result  of  the  recommendation  of  Miss 
Ormerod,  appointed  Steven  Lecturer  on  Agricultural  Entomology  in 
Edinburgh  University. 


1896.]  INSECT   CASES  283 

April  4,  1896. 
I  am  now  writing  to  you  on  a  point  on  which  I  think  that 
you — ex  officio — are  the  first  I  should  consult,  and  I  should 
greatly  like  your  opinion  ;    and  next   (if,   as   I   hope,  you 
approve  of  my  sister's  and  my  own  proposed  presentation), 
that  you  will  kindly  tell  me  to  whom  to  apply  in  requisite 
form.     We  have,  by  request  of  the  Council  of  the  Bath  and 
West    Society,    been    preparing   an    exhibit   of    Economic 
Entomology  for  their  approaching  Show  here.     My  sister's 
part  consists  of  twenty  coloured  diagrams,  nineteen  injurious 
insects  and  their  works,  and  one  finger  and  toe — these  are 
very  beautifully  executed  and  'fitted  with  loops  all  ready  for 
hanging;  size  26  ins.  long  by  21  wide.    My  part  is  seventeen 
cases — of  which  the  enclosed  slips,  to  be  affixed  on  light 
slanting  strips  of   wood  at  end  or   side  of   the  cases,  give 
just  a  general  idea  for  observers  without  a  catalogue  (Ap- 
pendix C).     I  have  tried,  you  will  see,  to  give  just  a  few 
illustrations  of  the  main  sorts  of  attack.     Scientific  names 
are  used  of   course,   but   it   is   essentially  an   Agricultural 
Entomological  exhibition  made  to  help  the  plainest  under- 
standing, so  I  have  not  taken  up  space  with  mere  scientific 
details,  and  I  have  spared  neither  trouble  nor  cost  in  pro- 
curing specimens,  especially  of  the  various  CEstridcc  (bot-flies). 
Also  that  there  might  be  no  possible  doubt  as  to  accuracy 
of  nomenclature  I  got  Mr.  O.  E.  Janson  to  spend  two  or 
three  hours  in  rigid  investigation,  and  the  only  error  in 
naming   he   found   was   in    the    name,   or   synonym,    of   a 
decayed   wood-eating   wireworm-beetle    which    I    removed 
to  make   all   sure.     Fifteen  of   the   cases   are  white    pine, 
with  what  I  call  ^'  detection "  fittings  outside.      The  glass 
is  laid  on  the  top  but  is  kept  in  place   by  a   handsome 
narrow   brass    band.     Thus   the   inside   of   the   case   is   at 
once  accessible  for  any  authorised  purpose  ;  but  those  not 
know^ing  the  arrangements  would  cause  such  a  clatter  and 
disturbance  that  their  misdoings  would  be  very  public.     The 
cases  are  all  as  nearly  as  may  be  1 2  ins.  by  8  by  2 J.     Two  of 
them  completing  the  seventeen  are  ''  Live  Boxes  "  of  polished 
mahogany,  same  size,  but  of  different  make  to  prevent  escape. 
Now,  I  much  want  you  to  tell  us  whether  you  think  that 
after  exhibition   here  the  collection,  including  my  sister's 
diagrams,  would   be   acceptable   as   a   presentation  to  the 
museum  of  your  Edinburgh  University.     It  is  not  for  me 
to  speak  of  my  own  work,  but  I  think  it  would  be  of  use 
both  in  your  work  and  Dr.  Fream's,  so  I  am  writing  to  you 
first  of  all.     If  approved  and  we  can  arrange  comfortably,  I 


284     LETTERS  TO  PROFESSOR  WALLACE  [Chap,  xxiii. 

contemplate  sending  it  (at  my  own  cost)  in  charge  of  an 
expert  who  could  repair  damage.  I  shall  wait  your  reply 
with  great  interest. 

April  16,  1896. 

Indeed,  I  thank  you  heartily  for  your  kind  letter  of  the 
13th.  It  is  a  very  great  pleasure  both  to  my  sister  and 
myself  that  you  think  our  collection  likely  to  be  of  use. 
I  thought  perhaps  you  had  started  on  your  long  tour,  so  I 
wrote  to  Dr.  Taylor,  and  yesterday  we  had  a  letter  from  him 
which  pleased  us  exceedingly,  with  the  kindly  expressed 
acceptance  of  the  University  Court  ;  and  Sir  W.  Muir  also 
was  good  enough  to  write,  which  we  took  to  be  very  kind 
of  him.  I  shall  hope  now,  all  being  well,  to  collect,  and 
(with  permission)  add  as  occasion  allows.  You  would 
notice  that  some  of  the  great  attacks,  Tipnla  (Daddy  long- 
legs),  leather-jacket  grubs,  for  instance,  and  Chanvas  gra- 
minis  (Antler  moth),  were  not  represented,  for  they  were 
not  about  in  the  winter,  but  I  shall  hope  to  go  on  now.  I 
should  like  you  to  see  the  cases,  and  we  should  much  like 
a  chat  before  you  go  ;  it  is  long  since  we  met,  and  as  the 
collection  will  not  be  free  to  go  down  till  a  little  after  the 
beginning  of  June,  I  suppose  you  will  be  far  away  then  ? 
I  do  not  know  the  difference  between  the  University  Court 
and  the  Senatus.  Very  ridiculous  you  will  think  this  ;  but 
I  should  like  to  understand  about  it. 

May  30,  1896. 

Many  thanks  for  your  letter  received  this  afternoon,  with 
address  of  Sir  Robert  Murdoch  Smith  [the  curator].  From 
this  I  understand  that  the  collection  is  to  be  placed  in  the 
*'  Museum  of  Science  and  Art,"  Chambers  Street,  as  the  pro- 
perty of  the  University  Court  of  Edinburgh  University  ? 
You  will  think  me  tedious,  but  I  was  under  an  impression 
that  there  was  a  ^^  University  Museum "  ptir  et  simple.  I 
should  not  be  easy  at  all  in  sending  the  exhibit  down  ex- 
cepting in  skilled  hands.  I  had  the  great  pleasure  yesterday 
of  showing  them  to  the  Prince  and  Princess  (p.  123),  and 
to-day  I  hear  there  is  such  a  crowd  that  even  our  own 
people  could  only  get  a  sight  of  two  cases. 

October  22,  1896. 
I  was  very  much  pleased  to  see  this  morning  that  you  had 
returned  safe  from  your  long  journey  to  Australia,  and  I 
hope  that  besides  the  immense  quantity  of  useful  work 
which  I  make  no  doubt  you  have  done,  that  you  have  come 
back  in  better  health.     You  will  have  heard  that  my  dear 


PLATE      XXVII. 


Miss  Georgiana  Elizabeth  Ohmerod. 

Photo  by  Elliott  tO  Fry. 
{j>p.  16,  30,  37,  88,  90,  123.) 


To  face  i^.  284. 


1899]  DIAGRAMS  AND   EXAMINERSHIP  285 

sister  has  gone  from  me  ;  and  for  her  I  can  be  very  happy, 
but  I  do  miss  her  exceedingly. 

But  I  am  now  writing  to  you  about  a  Httle  bit  of  business. 
When  her  failing  health  allowed,  her  great  pleasure  after 
you  saw  her  was  to  execute  some  more  diagrams,  beauti- 
fully done,  and  I  am  sure  there  is  no  situation  where  she 
would  have  been  more  gratified  for  them  to  be  placed  than 
in  Edinburgh  University — and  yesterday  evening  I  had  a 
truly  kind  letter  from  Sir  Wm.  Muir,  telling  me  of  the 
acceptance  of  my  offer  of  them  by  the  Senatus  and 
University  Court.  But  at  present  I  am  not  able  to  lay 
my  hand  on  her  list  of  what  was  formerly  sent.  Would 
you  mind  the  trouble  of  letting  me  have  just  the  shortest 
possible  notes  of  the  subjects — a  couple  of  words  to  each  as 
Hessian  fly,  Wireworm,  &c.,  would  be  quite  enough — and 
then  without  fear  of  repetition  I  can  present  all  the  others 
to  the  University  (excepting  two  or  three  which  I  should 
like  to  keep  for  her  dear  sake)  ;  and  will  you  kindly  further 
help  me  by  letting  me  know  at  your  convenience  to  whom 
I  should  address  the  package. 

But  though  my  dear  sister  did  not  work  technically  on 
my  reports  any  more  than  I  did  on  her  beautiful  drawings, 
I  greatly  miss  her  sympathy  and  coUeagueship. 

November  24,  1897. 

I  cannot  say  that  I  am  well.  The  worry  and  hard  extra 
work  and  my  bad  fall  on  the  stone  steps  were  not  good  for 
me,  and  I  am  painfully  lame,  and  have  got  the  gout,  my 
doctor  said  a  day  or  two  ago,  everywhere. 

However,  I  am  getting  better,  and  hope  to  be  much  as 
usual  soon.  To-day  I  am  looking  up  '*  Pine  beetle."  I 
think  a  trustworthy  record  of  a  thousand  acres  of  Pine 
without  (so  far  as  seen)  a  tree  not  infested  is  a  grand  obser- 
vation.    This  is  a  consequence  of  the  1893  and  1894  gales. 

January  30,  1899. 
I  take  it  very  kind  indeed  of  you  to  write  to  tell  me  of 
the  University  arrangements  about  the  Examinership.^  I 
consider  it  a  great  honour  to  have  held  the  office,  and  it  has 
been  a  most  thorough  pleasure  also  thus  to  be  associated  in 
work  with  such  a  kind  friend  as  yourself,  as  well  as  with 
Dr.  Eream.  But  still,  though  not  now  one  of  the  staff,  I 
can  work  in  coUeagueship,  and  I  have  never  forgotten  the 

'  After  a  full  term  of  three  years,  by  ordinance,  an  examiner  is  not 
immediately  eligible  for  re-appointment. 


286    LETTERS  TO  PROFESSOR  WALLACE  [Chap,  xxiii. 

important  help  that  you  gave  me  some  years  ago.  I  shall 
look  forward  very  much  to  a  visit  from  you  presently; 
besides  the  pleasure,  it  would  help  me,  to  have  a  good  talk. 
I  am  intending  to  make  an  alteration  about  my  yearly 
reports.  It  seems  to  me  that  it  would  be  the  best  course  "to 
bring  the  present  series  to  a  close  with  this  number,  giving 
with  it  a  collective  index  of  the  whole  series  up  to  date.  I 
should  like  the  twenty-two  years'  work  to  stand  complete, 
and  not  be  liable  to  detraction,  gradually,  as  to  regret  about 
Miss  Ormerod  not  being  this,  that,  and  the  other,  which 
with  advancing  years  is  likely.  I  think,  too,  that  I  need  a 
little  consultation  as  to  some  slight  alteration  of  plan.  I  do 
not  like  so  much  repetition  as  I  see  elsewhere.  I  have 
difficulty  in  avoiding  it,  and  I  am  trying  that  my  present 
Twenty-second  Annual  Report  should  be  as  fresh  as  I  can 
make  it.  Kind  regards  from,  yours  sincerely, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 


CHAPTER   XXIV 

LETTERS   TO    PROFESSOR   WALLACE   ON   THE    LL.D.    OF    THE 
UNIVERSITY   OF   EDINBURGH 

Announcement  of  the  Honorary  LL.D.  to  be  conferred— Preliminary  personal 
arrangements— Miss  Ormerod's  feelings  of  appreciation  and  of  anxiety — 
Letters  of  congratulation. 

This  chapter  is  unlike  any  of  the  foregoing  chapters  of 
correspondence  in  its  purely  personal  character.  Interested 
readers  will  not  fail  to  recognise  in  it  the  genuine  feminine 
feeling  of  anxiety  at  the  approach  of  a  trying  public  ordeal 
to  one  so  unaccustomed  as  Miss  Ormerod  to  the  pageantry 
of  academic  functions.  Nor  will  they  fail  to  appreciate  the 
resolution  with  which  she  bore  the  physical  strain  put  upon 
one  whose  strength  had  been  well-nigh  spent  in  the  cause 
of  science  under  a  load  of  years  and  bodily  infirmities. 

To  Miss  E.  A.  Ormerod, 

University  of  Edinburgh, 

February  24,  1900. 
Dear  Miss  Ormerod, — I  hasten  to  announce  to  you 
without  a  moment's  delay  that  the  Senatus  of  this  University 
have  only  a  minute  ago  agreed  to  do  our  University  the 
distinguished  honour  of  asking  you  to  accept  the  honorary 
degree  of  LL.D.  of  the  University.  I  may  tell  you  without 
breaking  any  confidence  that  you  are  not  only  the  first  lady 
who  has  ever  been  asked  to  accept  the  degree,  but  it  was  in 
view  of  the  necessity  of  recognising  the  great  and  dis- 
tinguished labours  which  you  have  done  for  Science  that 
regulations  were  made  by  which  it  became  possible  for  us 
to  confer  the  degree  upon  a  lady.  Any  little  share  I  had  in 
this  matter  is  more  than  rewarded  by  the  great  gratification 

which  I  feel  in  connection  with  this  proposed  act  of  the 

287 


288     LETTERS  TO  PROFESSOR  WALLACE    [Chap.  xxiv. 

Senatus,  of  which  I  beHeve  you  will  most  probably  hear  by 
the  same  post  from  the  Principal.  Should  the  announce- 
ment come  a  day  later  this  will  serve  as  a  private  intimation 
to  yourself.  It  will  be  a  still  further  triumph  if  you  feel 
physically  able  to  come  to  receive  the  degree  in  the  presence 
of  an  assembly  of  about  3,000  people — the  number  who 
usually  attend  our  graduations.  If  you  are  not  able  to  come, 
of  course  the  degree  will  be  conferred  all  the  same,  but 
personally  I  would  rejoice,  if  it  can  be  without  your  running 
a  serious  risk,  to  see  you  among  us  and  to  get  your  name 
enrolled  among  the  many  distinguished  men — all  men  but 
yourself — who  have  distinguished  themselves  in  Science 
and  Literature,  and  been  pleased  to  accept  our  degree. — 
I  am,  dear  Miss  Ormerod,  yours  very  sincerely, 

Robert  Wallace. 

Dr.  Fream,  ^^ Steven"  lecturer  on  Agricultural  Entomology 
in  Edinburgh  University,  wrote  as  follows  : — 

DowNTON,  February  26,  1900. 
My  dear  Miss  Ormerod  -  As  I  have  to  catch  a  train 
I  have  only  time  to  write  you  my  very  warmest  congratula- 
tions on  the  LL.D.  It  was  really  settled  a  month  ago,  but 
had  to  be  confirmed  on  Friday.  Of  course  the  secret 
"  burnt"  a  little,  but  I  was  pledged  to  say  nothing  about  it  ! 
It  will  appear  in  the  University  Intelligence  shortly.  The 
honour  was  never  better  w;on,  and  long  may  you  enjoy  it 
is   the   earnest   wish    of,  in    haste, — Yours   very   sincerely, 

W.  Fream. 

To  Professor  Robert  Wallacey  University y  Edinburgh. 

TORRINGTON    HoUSE,   ST.   AlBANS, 

February  25,  1900. 

Dear  Professor  Wallace, — I  feel  wholly  unable  to 
express  my  respectful  and  sincere  gratitude  to  the  Senatus 
for  such  a  high  honour,  and  to  yourself  I  am  greatly  in- 
debted for  your  kind  friendship  and  also  letting  me  hear  so 
soon.  I  value  the  honour  exceedingly— the  seal  of  approval 
of  this  highly  scientific  body.  When  the  letter  arrives  which 
you  tell  me  is  coming  I  will  endeavour  to  express  myself  to 
some  degree  adequately.  To  yourself  just  quietly  I  may 
say  it  is  a  pleasure,  and  such  an  unexampled  honour  that  I 
am  delighted.  But  still  I  feel  that  the  great  point  of  my 
work  always  is  utilising  the  exceedingly  kind  help  which  is 
so  cordially  given  me  by  my  good,  kind,  scientific  friends. 


I900.]     THE   LL.D.  OF  EDINBURGH   UNIVERSITY     289 

and  the  practical  observations  to  sift  into  shape  that  are 
given  me  as  the  foundation.  If  you  were  here  I  should 
like  to  say  so  much,  but  I  do  not  know  how  to  write  more 
at  present  than  that  I  am  deeply  grateful. 

P.S. — I  wish  very  much  indeed  to  come,  as  you  kindly 
suggest,  but  my  very  great  and  painful  difficulty  in  walking 
movement  from  arthritis  makes  me  fear  that  the  risk  would 
be  too  great,  but  anyway  I  am  going  to  ask  my  doctor. 

February  27,  1900. 

Your  exceedingly  kind  letter  and  the  subject  of  it  were 
such  a  surprise  to  me  that  in  all  the  ideas  suddenly  arising 
I  hardly  know  how  to  reply  coherently.  Now  at  least  I  can 
say  I  am  deeply,  respectfully  grateful  for  such  an  honour  to 
be  granted  me.  I  have  written  in  reply  to  the  formal  noti- 
fication from  the  Senatus  what  I  hope  may  be  a  proper 
reply.  I  also  mentioned  that  I  trusted  to  be  able  to  attend 
in  person  to  receive  this  great  honour.  But  now  I  hope 
you  will  be  so  good  as  to  allow  me  to  ask  your  help  in 
arrangements.  [Here  followed  a  list  of  queries  which  are 
not  of  general  interest.]  Of  course  on  such,  to  me,  very 
great  occasion  I  do  not  in  the  least  mind  expense. 

The  other  matter  is.  Will  you  please  tell  me  am  I  to  wear 
Doctor  of  Laws'  dress  ?  and  if  so,  will  you  kindly  say  to 
whom  I  should  write  to  order  it  ?  When  I  come  I  am 
hoping  you  will  instruct  me  in  what  to  do,  for  unless  you 
are  good  enough  to  help  me  with  a  little  (or  a  great  deal)  of 
instruction  I  am  afraid  I  am  likely  to  be  quite  out  of  order. 
Yours  very  sincerely, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 

University,  Edinburgh, 

March  i,  1900. 

Dear  Miss  Ormerod, — I  am  delighted  to  see  from  your 
letter  received  this  morning  that  you  are  going  to  be  able  to 
come  to  the  graduation  function,  and  that  you  have  arranged 
to  be  well  cared  for  on  the  way  up.  .  I  shall  take  full  respon- 
sibility for  all  necessary  arrangements  at  this  end.  I  should 
have  done  a  lot  to-day  and  reported  progress  to  you,  but 
unfortunately  I  have  to  go  out  of  town  to  give  a  lecture  on 
South  Africa  at  Cauvin's  Hospital,  but  I  may  tell  you  that  I 
can  easily  secure  the  accommodation  you  mention  for  your- 
self. Miss  Hartwell,  and  the  doctor.  You  will  wear  a  black 
cloak  or  graduation  gown  thrown  over  your  ordinary  dress 
very  much  like  a  Minister's  robe.  This  is  hired  for  a  few 
shillings    from   a   man    who    supplies    them    regularly   to 

20 


2i)o     LETTERS  TO  PROFESSOR  WALLACE   [Chap.  xxiv. 

Honorary  Graduates,  and  I  shall  arrange  all  about  that.  A 
silk  hood  goes  round  the  neck  and  hangs  down  the  back. 
It  is  put  on  by  the  head  Servitor  after  you  have  been 
officially  capped  by  the  Principal.  It  is  part  of  the  public 
function.  You  must  not  feel  the  least  anxious  about  the 
event,  as  you  will  be  surrounded  by  a  host  of  people  to 
whom  your  name  is  a  household  word,  who  know  well  the 
value  which  your  work  has  been  to  this  country,  and  who 
appreciate  you  accordingly.  I  shall  be  only  too  pleased  to 
answer  any  question  of  detail  you  may  write  and  help  you 
in  every  way.     Yours  very  sincerely,  Robert  Wallace. 

March  2,  1900. 

Dear  Professor  Wallace, — I  am  very  glad  to  know 
some  part  of  what  the  form  is  on  this  great  occasion.  I 
hope  that  by  following  whatever  directions  you  give  me 
quite  exactly  that  all  will  be  right,  i.e.,  that  I  may  do  all  I 
ought  to  do  !  But  I  cannot  help  being  a  little  nervous ;  I 
feel  the  honour  so  very  great  indeed,  and  also  the  kindness 
I  am  receiving.  Your  account  of  the  ceremony  itself  has 
made  my  mind  much  clearer.  Walking  upstairs  is  a  great 
difficulty  to  me,  but  on  flat  ground,  with  my  light  ebony 
stick,  I  do  not  think  my  lameness  is  more  than  a  very 
little  observable.  I  am  as  near  as  possible  5  feet  6  inches. 
This  is  relative  to  the  graduation  gown.  My  head  really  is 
so  full  of  this  unprecedented  distinction  I  am  afraid  I 
trouble  you  too  much. 

March  7,  1900. 

I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  indeed  for  all  the  care 
that  you  have  been  so  kindly  taking  for  me,  and  for  making 
everything  so  clear  to  me — amongst  other  points,  your  little 
note  about  convenience  of  cheques.  I  think  you  have 
arranged  everything  as  nicely  as  possible  for  me.  All 
matters  for  the  journey  I  expect  my  doctor  will  look  after 
nicely.  But  when  you  write  again, — I  suppose  on  the  great 
occasion,  as  the  cap  is  to  be  put  on,  that  I  appear  without  a 
bonnet  ?  I  have  now  read  your  letter  over  again  that  I  may 
be  quite  sure  that  I  thoroughly  understand  everything. 

P.S. — There  is  yet  one  more  inquiry  I  am  venturing  to 
trouble  you  with.  My  doctor  [Dr.  Eustace  Lipscomb]  is  an 
M.B.  (Cambridge)  ;  on  such  a  special  occasion,  should  he 
wear  his  hood  ? 

March  3,  1900. 

I  shall  be  very  much  obliged  if  you  would  secure  me 
rooms  at  the  Balmoral  Hotel,  as  you  mention.     Namely,  a 


1900.]       ARRANGEMENTS   FOR   GRADUATION  291 

sitting-room  and  two  bedrooms  with  doors  opening  one 
from  the  other,  on  the  first  floor  to  the  front,  for  Miss 
Hartvvell  [Private  Secretary]  and  myself,  likewise  a  room 
for  the  doctor — from  the  evening  (8  p.m.)  on  Wednesday 
the  nth  until  about  nine  on  the  following  Sunday  evening. 
I  should  like  to  be  at  the  Balmoral ;  I  have  heard  of  it 
as  such  a  good  hotel.  I  can  manage,  though  the  operation 
is  painful,  to  walk  up  just  a  few  steps  with  the  help  of  my 
stick  (I  have  been  trying  five  at  my  door),  if  somebody  be 
by  me  in  case  I  should  slip,  without,  I  think,  attracting 
attention  ;  and  if  I  were  too  lame  after  the  long  journey  to 
manage  nicely,  then  I  must  be  humble,  and  be  thankful  to 
be  carried  in  a  chair. 

I  feel  greatly  obliged  to  Sir  Ludovic  Grant  for  his  kind 
intention  of  asking  me  to  stay  at  his  house.  It  would  have 
been  very  pleasant,  for  thus,  also,  I  should  have  doubtless 
seen  many  kind  friends  ;  but  besides  the  great  difficulty  of 
the  stairs,  I  am  obliged  to  lie  down  a  little  each  day,  and  I 
think  after  the  long  journey  I  had  best  keep  quiet  to  fit  me 
for  the  great  day  on  Saturday. 

But  if  the  thing  be  possible  without  intruding  on  valuable 
time,  might  I  not  hope  to  see  some  of  my  kind  friends  at 
the  hotel — yourself,  of  course,  and  I  shall  also  be  delighted 
to  see  Dr.  MacDougall.  Could  you  arrange  some  time  ?  I 
should  not  myself  see  anything  wrong  in  seeing  friends  on 
the  afternoon  of  Good  Friday,  but  pray  do  not  let  me  do 
anything  that  might  be  thought  not  right.  You  and  I  will 
have  a  good  deal  to  say  at  your  best  convenience. 

P.S. — I  was  greatly  gratified  to  learn  that  my  letter  to 
Sir  L.  Grant  met  with  his  approval.  It  was  a  matter  of  no 
small  anxiety  to  me  to  try  at  least  to  express  my  appreciation 
rightly. 

March  14,  1900. 

I  got  a  friend  here  to  let  me  try  on  the  square  college 
cap  **  mortar  board,"  and  it  fitted  so  nicely  over  my  bow 
that  I  do  not  think  I  should  be  at  all  troubled  by  ideas  of 
anything  unusual  being  on  my  head ;  and  I  can  take  it  off 
without  trouble.  Through  your  kind  help  I  think  all  these 
arrangements  are  in  perfect  order,  and  I  am  looking  forward 
much  (preliminarily)  to  our  meeting  at  Balmoral  Hotel. 

March  27,  1900. 

1  should  have  liked  to  beg  a  ticket  besides  the  two  which 

you  kindly  mention  for  my  nephew,  Arthur  Ormerod,  who 

has  just  taken  his  M.D.,  so  I  wired  off  to  him  at  Oxford, 

but,  to  his  great  regret,  he  cannot  come.    I  hope  the  weather 


2()2     LETTERS  TO  PROFESSOR  WALLACE   [Chap.  xxiv. 

will  be  better,  but  we  have  a  good  bright  sunshine  between 
the  occasional  light  snow  showers,  and  both  Miss  Hartwell 
and  myself  have  good  furred  mantles,  and  with  the  snug 
small  carriage  all  our  own  way,  I  think  we  shall  do  very 
well. 

What  a  sight  the  hall  will  be  !  also  your  small  flock  of 
aspirant  doctors  ;  may  be  as  anxious  in  their  minds  as 
some  one  I  know  of.  But  I  am  really  not  alarmed.  I  am 
sure  you  will  keep  me  right.  What  time  of  day  does  the 
ceremony  begin  ?  And  what  happens  after  ? — do  we  retire 
respectively  like  rabbits  to  our  own  burrows  ? 

March  29,  1900. 

The  pamphlet  on  the  McEwan  Hall  [the  number  of  the 
"Student"  describing  the  opening  of  the  Hall]  is  a  great 
boon  to  me,  and  what  a  noble  building  ! 

While  in  Edinburgh  my  idea  is  to  have  lunch  at  one 
o'clock,  my  usual  time,  and  a  sort  of  miscellaneous  meal  at 
6.30,  and  rest  in  the  evening  after  it,  and  I  shall  think  it  a 
great  compliment  and  a  very  great  pleasure  if  friends  may 
do  me  the  favour  to  look  in  after,  say,  about  two  o'clock. 
It  will  be  much  safer  for  me,  under  present  circumstances 
of  wanting  to  keep  fresh  and  strong  for  the  day,  not  to  go 
out,  so  I  should  be  on  the  spot.  Sir  Wm.  Muir  and  his 
daughter,  Mrs.  Arbuthnot,  kindly  wrote  that  they  meant  to 
look  in,  but  it  would  be  only  a  pleasure  to  me  to  see  any 
friends.  Please  to  consider  me  as  quite  under  your 
guidance  for  this,  to  me,  so  very  great  occasion,  and  wholly 
thankful  so  to  be,  excepting  in  the  feeling  of  the  great 
trouble  that  you  are  kindly  taking.     Yours  very  sincerely, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 

P.S. — Dr.  E.  L.  thought  it  would  be  best  for  me  to  return 
by  the  Sunday  night  sleeping  train,  and  the  Midland  manager 
has  given  permission  for  it  to  stop  here  on  Monday  morning. 

Professor  Wallace  to  MissE.  A.  Ormerod. 

University  of  Edinburgh, 

March  29,  1900. 

Dear  Miss  Ormerod, — The  box  containing  your  most 
valuable  contribution  to  the  library  arrived  safely  from 
Wesley  &  Son,  and  the  ten  volumes,  [of  her  own  works] 
all  in  excellent  order,  are  standing  on  the  Senate  Hall  table 
so  that  they  may  be  seen.  The  Principal,  Sir  Wm.  Muir, 
and  the  Secretary,  Sir  L.  Grant,  were  the  first,  along  with 
Professor  Patrick  and  me,  to  inspect  them  in  their  present 


I900.]         PRELIMINARIES   TO   GRADUATION  293 

position,  and  all  the  others  excepting  myself  were  astounded 
at  the  magnitude  of  your  work.  I  carried  the  books  first 
into  the  library  and  had  them  entered  in  the  catalogue 
before  they  went  to  the  Senate  Hall.  They  will  have  a 
shelf  for  themselves,  so  that  they  can  be  kept  together  as 
the  ''Ormerod  Collection,"  or  rather  ^^presentation."  I  sent 
you  a  ^'Student"  giving  details  of  the  Hall  in  which  you 
will  be  capped.  The  capping  is  at  10  a.m.,  and  after  that, 
if  you  feel  able,  you  will  go  on  to  St.  Giles'  Cathedral.  I 
enclose  one  of  the  ordinary  tickets  to  give  you  an  idea  as 
to  how  the  general  public  are  admitted. — (R.  W.) 

March  30,  1900. 

Dear  Professor  Wallace, — What  can  I  say  ?  I  am 
very  much  used  to  work  just  quietly  in  the  hope  of  being 
of  some  service,  but  this  kind  commendation  from  those 
whose  opinions  I  hold  in  such  respect  as  those  of  the  chiefs, 
whether  the  high  officials  or  professors  in  your  great 
University,  is  indeed  a  gratification,  a  comfort  for  troubles 
sometimes  not  light,  and  an  encouragement  which  I  grate- 
fully and  deeply  appreciate. 

I  should  like,  of  all  things,  if  you  will  take  charge  of  me, 
to  attend  the  Commemoration  Service  after  the  capping. 
It  will  delight  me  to  be  there,  and  if  I  am  tired  I  can  rest 
after.  [The  graduation  ceremonial  was  found  to  be  quite 
enough-  for  Miss  Ormerod's  strength,  and  no  attempt  was 
made  to  go  to  St.  Giles'  Cathedral  to  the  service.]  I  usually 
breakfast  at  8.15,  so  that  I  should  be  all  ready  at  10  o'clock. 
It  seems  to  me  that  if  the  ^'  low-hung  carriage  "  which  you 
have  kindly  secured  use  of  for  me  were  in  attendance  to 
convey  us  to  the  McEwan  Hall,  and  when  wanted  at  inter- 
vals onward,  this  would  be  exceedingly  comfortable  for  me. 
But  in  everything  of  the  arrangements  I  am  hoping  that  all 
I  have  to  do  is  to  quite  precisely  obey  as  well  as  benefit  by 
most  thankfully  all  that  you  are  good  enough  to  arrange  for 
me,  and  will  instruct  me  about  presently. 

Balmoral  Hotel,  Edinburgh, 

April  12,  1900. 
I  earnestly  hope  that  Dr.  E.  Lipscomb  will  find  you 
better.  It  is  a  real  grief  to  me  that  you  should  be  going 
through  such  a  painful  illness  [an  influenza  cold  which 
developed  at  a  most  inopportune  moment].  And,  second- 
arily, not  having  all  your  kind  advice  and  help  and  your 
companionship  in  all,  does  take  away  much  of  the  pleasure 
of  my  honour. 


294        LETTER  FROM  DR.  MACDOUGALL     [Chap.  xxiv. 

We  find  the  gown,  hood,  and  trencher  cap  fit  very  nicely. 
This  cap  suits  me  much  better  than  the  soft  velvet  one, 
and  1  am  sure  that  I  should  much  prefer  the  black  gown  to 
the  amazing  splendours  of  scarlet  faced  with  blue.  I  think 
on  formal  occasions,  if  desirable,  I  could  get  up  my  courage 
to  wearing  the  quiet  black  gown,  but  I  should  be  terrified 
about  the  brilliant  garment.  Dr.  Lipscomb  is  going  to  tell 
you  that,  as  matters  have  progressed,  I  do  not  feel  as  if  it 
were  at  all  necessary  for  me  to  have  the  convenience  of  a 
room  in  the  Hall  you  kindly  procured  for  me,  and  if  it  were 
permissible  for  me  to  '^robe"  here,  and  drive  robed  to  the 
McEwan  Hall,  it  would  save  me  a  world  of  anxiety.  I  might, 
I  think,  carry  my  cap  in  my  hand  until  time  for  capping 
came.  It  is  so  exceptional  a  case  that  I  do  not  see  any 
impropriety  in  being  bare-headed  for  a  while.  But  I  am 
truly  anxious  that  I  should  appear  before  all  the  august 
body  preliminarily  under  your  wing,  or,  if  there  was  risk 
for  you,  under  the  care  of  some  other  member  of  the 
University  (if  they  will  adopt  me). 

[The  graduation  ceremonial  (p.  95)  passed  off  with- 
out a  hitch  of  any  kind,  and  the  students  gave  the  first 
honorary  woman  graduate  a  magnificent  reception.] 

ToRRiXGTOx  House,  St.  Albans, 

April  17,  1900. 

Dear  Professor  Wallace, — I  really  do  not  know  how 
to  begin  my  letter.  There  is  so  very  much  I  want  to  say 
and  to  thank  you  most  heartily  for.  But  first  I  should 
exceedingly  like  to  know  that  you  are  recovering,  and 
were  not  seriously  the  worse  for  your  kindness  in  really 
and  truly  coming  from  your  bed  to  look  after  me.  It 
would  have  taken  greatly  from  my  downright  pleasure  if 
you  had  not  been  there.  I  was  much  impressed  by  the 
ceremonial.  I  had  not  connected  an  idea  of  the  perfect 
order,  and  in  some  respects  solemnity,  with  the  function 
of  graduation.  It  is  an  impression  never  to  be  forgotten, 
any  more  than  the  exceeding  kindness  with  which  I  was 
received.  '^  Dr.  Ormerod "  also  begs  her  best  thanks  for 
the  most  liberal  supply  of  ^^  Edinburgh  Evening  Dispatch" 
and  ''Scotsman"  received  this  morning  [containing  ac- 
counts of  the  University  function].  I  am  putting  your 
letter,  the  very  first  with  address  of  "  Doctorate,"  carefully 
away  amongst  the  special  treasures  of  my  Academic  honour. 
I  am  trying  to  get,  so  to  say,  "  into  harness  "  again  amongst 
the  consignments  of  boxes  waiting. 


iQoo.]  CONGRATULATION    ON    LL.D.  295 

Now  I  hope  you  will  not  think  me  absolutely  carried 
away  by  the  feeling  of  the  importance  of  the  honour  to 
myself,  but  amongst  letters  of  congratulation  I  have  one 
from  Dr.  L.  O.  Howard,  the  Entomologist  of  the  U.S. 
Department  of  Agriculture,  which  pleases  me  very  much. 
He  says  : — 

Dating  Washington,  D.C,  April  7,  1900. 

*^  The  receipt  of  your  letter  of  21st  March  and  of  your 
admirable  twenty-third  Annual  Report  reminds  me  that  I 
have  been  remiss  in  fulfiUing  a  strong  intention  to  write 
you  at  my  earliest  convenience  and  congratulate  you  most 
warmly  on  the  well-deserved  honour  which  you  are  to 
receive  from  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  You  are  right  ; 
not  only  is  it  an  honour  to  yourself,  but  it  is  an  honour  to 
Economic  Entomology,  the  force  of  which  cannot  be  over- 
estimated. I  congratulate  you  very  warmly.  An  LL.D. 
from  Edinburgh  has  always  seemed  to  me  to  be  one  of  the 
highest  honours  which  an  Englishman  (or  woman  now) 
could  gain."  L.  O.  Howard. 

Dr.  R.  Stewart  MacDougall  wrote  :— 

Scottish  Liberal  Club,  Edinburgh,  Saturday. 

A  telegram  received  in  the  morning  made  it  impossible 
for  me  to  get  to  the  McEwan  Hall  in  time  for  my  seat  on 
the  platform.  Among  the  audience,  however,  I  had  an 
excellent  opportunity  of  getting  acquainted  with  *'  popular  " 
opinion,  and  I  only  wished  you  could  have  heard  all  the 
kind  things  that  were  said  about  you.  Somebody  has  said, 
*^  Beware  when  all  men  (and  all  women)  speak  well  of  you." 
Really  I  know  no  one  so  exposed  to  this  temptation  (if 
temptation  it  be)  as  yourself.  The  honouring  of  our  various 
distinguished  men  naturally  appeals  most  strongly  to  different 
groups,  but  there  is  in  addition  about  this  latest  honour 
to  yourself  something  which  has  touched  the  general 
imagination. 

May  you  be  long  spared  to  wear  the  honour  worthily. 

I  hope  that  on  your  return  you  will  find  yourself  none 
the  worse  for  your  plucky  journey  north  and  all  the  atten- 
dant fatigue. 

R.  Stewart  MacDougall. 

•    Dr.  Ritzema  Bos  wrote  : — 

Amsterdam,  March  16,  1900. 
Dear  Miss  Ormerod, — I    was   very  much   enjoyed    lo 
read  in  your  kind  letter  of  12th  March  that  the  Senatus  of 


296       LETTER   OF   LORD   GRIMTHORPE.     [Chap.  xxiv. 

the  Edinburgh  University  will  confer  on  you  the  Honorary 
Degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws,  as  an  acknowledgment  of  the  great 
merits  you  have  for  the  advancement  of  Economic  Ento- 
mology. I  am  glad  to  hear  that  the  important  work  you 
have  done  since  so  long  years  for  Science  and  for  Agricul- 
ture will  be  recompensed  in  this  way.  I  hope  that  you 
may  remain  still  for  many  years,  what  you  have  been 
already  for  so  long  time,  the  first  Economic  Entomologist 
of  your  country  and  one  of  the  most  famous  Economic 
Entomologists  of  the  world.  My  wife  asks  me  to  offer  also 
her  kind  congratulations  to  you.  December  19,  1899,  it 
was  twenty-five  years  since  I  received  the  Degree  of  Doctor 
of  Natural  Philosophy.  On  this  day  a  deputation  of  repre- 
sentatives of  our  Dutch  Agriculture  and  Horticulture  came 
to  me  and  offered  me  a  statue  of  bronze — the  genius  of 
Science,  with  the  subscription,  ^'Ad  lumen."  It  was  pre- 
sented to  me  in  the  name  of  many  agriculturists  and  horti- 
culturists in  Holland  and  in  Dutch  India.  The  General 
Director  of  Agriculture  came  also  to  me,  and  told  me  that 
H.M.  our  Queen  offered  me  the  grade  of  Knight  of  the 
Dutch  Lion  (Kidder  in  de  Orde  von  den  Nederlandsche 
Leeuwen).  It  was  a  beautiful  day  for  us  indeed.  With  many 
kind  regards,  believe  me,  yours  very  truly, 

RiTZEMA  Bos. 

Lord  Grimthorpe  wrote  : — 

St.  Albans,  Ash  Wednesday,  1900. 

Dear  Miss  Ormerod, — ^M  lose  not  a  moment"  (as  the 
story  is)  in  congratulating  you,  or  myself,  on  the  honour  of 
our  becoming  a  brother  and  sister  in  Laws,  as  one  of  my 
nieces  points  out  in  a  newspaper.  The  Princess  of  Wales 
has  only  the  inferior  position  of  a  sister  in  Music,  and  those 
in  Medicine  are  quite  common  now.  I  am  sorry  that  we, 
neither  of  us,  dare  venture  to  go  out  and  pay  our  duty  in 
person  in  this  weather — as  unique  as  your  new  position — 
and  I  was  sorry  to  miss  you  the  last  time  you  came  here. 
My  dear  wife,  who  has  been  worse  than  I  am  though  more 
capable  of  recovery,  is  slowly  doing  so.  She  was  in  an 
alarming  state  for  some  time  under  the  abominable 
influence  of  the  general  pest,  influenza. 

Though  I  write  badly  and  with  difficulty,  I  am  better  in 
general  strength,  but  shall  never  be  well.  However,  I  am 
thankful  to  be  no  worse,  and  to  have  a  nice  series  of 
benevolent  relations  of  two  generations  here,  and  to  be  here 
instead  of  London  or  Bath.     Tea  generally  goes  on  at  4J 


I900.]  CONGRATULATIONS   ON    LL.D.  297 

now,  and  we  shall  hope  not  to  be  disappointed  if  you  look 
in  again,  wearing  your  red  hood  when  you  have  acquired  it. 
With  very  kind  regards  and  rejoicings  from  all  our  ladies 

I  am,  yours  ever, 

Grimthorpe. 

N.B.— I  hope  you  are  duly  elated  at  the  prospect  of  a 
Dean  and  Chapter  here.  I  defied  the  late  Archdeacon  Grant 
who  agitated  for  it,  to  tell  us  definitely  any  single  practical 
bit  of  good  it  could  do,  and  he  declined  to  try. 

Mr.  L.  O.  Howard  wrote  again  on  : — 

May  10,  1900. 

My  dear  Miss  Ormerod, — I  am  greatly  pleased  to 
receive  your  letter  of  April  30th  with,  the  newspaper  clip- 
pings. I  had  read  substantially  the  same  account  in 
American  newspapers,  but  did  not  know,  of  course,  of  your 
pleasant  meeting  with  Mr.  Choate.  He  is  a  man  who  is 
highly  esteemed  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  not  only  for  his 
legal  ability  but  for  his  tact  and  other  good  qualities.  1  do 
not  know  him  personally,  but  he  is  a  national  character. 
His  name  is  known  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the 
other,  and  his  clever  sayings  are  repeated  from  Seattle  to 
Key  West,  and  from  Portland  to  San  Diego.  In  March  I 
attended  the  annual  banquet  of  the  trustees  of  the  Shaw 
Botanic  Gardens  in  St.  Louis,  and  responded  to  the  toast  of 
Henry  Shaw.  The  man  who  sat  at  my  right,  a  distinguished 
college  president,  told  me  many  Choate  stories,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  filling  my  mind  so  full  of  Mr.  Choate  that  when  1 
was  called  upon  to  speak  I  had  almost  forgotten  what  I  had 
intended  to  say.  We  are  all  of  us  here  delighted  about 
your  doctorate.  Entomology  and  Economic  Entomology 
have  been  steadily  assuming  a  higher  place  in  the  minds  of 
the  people  during  the  past  twenty  years,  and  this  honour 
which  has  come  to  you  is  the  culmination  of  our  advance 
up  to  the  present  time.  Wishing  you  many  more  years  of 
work  and  happiness  (work  must  mean  happiness  to  you), 
believe  me,  my  dear  Miss  Ormerod,  sincerely  yours, 

L.  O.  Howard. 

April  21,  1900. 

Dear  Professor  Wallace, — It  is  a  bright  day  when  I 
see  your  handwriting  outside  the  envelope,  and  I  am  truly 
glad  your  cold  is  better ;  it  was  no  slight  matter  that  wanted 
mending.  My  journey  was  not  so  successful  as  I  hoped. 
The  wind  was  very  cold  on  St.  Albans'  platform  and  I  got  a 


298     LETTERS  TO  PROFESSOR  WALLACE   [Chap.  xxiv. 

chill,  but  I  was  up  again  yesterday,  and  hope  to  be  just  as 
usual  in  a  day  or  two.  I  shall  be  so  very  glad  to  see  you. 
Please  fix  your  own  time,  and  if  you  would  tell  me  a  little 
beforehand,  I  would  try  to  get  General  and  Mrs.  Bigge  to 
come  to  lunch.  He  I  think  knew  Sir  Wm.  Muir  in  India, 
when  he  (General  Bigge)  was  in  military  command.  He 
would  of  all  things  enjoy  a  talk  with  you  about  horses. 

One  day  (if  you  please  that  is)  we  would  drive  over  to 
Batch  Wood  to  tea,  and  Lord  Grimthorpe  will  certainly 
come  in  and  have  a  chat  if  he  be  well  enough.  In  a 
parenthesis,  would  you  care  to  drive  over  to  Rothamsted  ? 
I  know  Sir  Henry  and  Lady  Gilbert  and  Mr.  Warington. 

I  shall  so  like  to  be  able  to  have  a  good  quiet  talk  with 
you  about  various  of  my  plans.  I  feel  (may  I  be  forgiven 
if  I  am  too  presumptuous)  that  now  I  have  a  real  scientific 
home,  and  though  I  would  not  for  the  world  intrude,  I  may 
I  think  ask  my  good  colleague's  advice.  As  you  will  be 
here  so  soon  I  think  I  had  best  not  write  to  Sir  W.  Muir,  as 
he  kindly  gave  me  leave  to  do,  about  my  father's  set  of 
volumes  of  drawings.  When  you  come  you  will  guide  my 
views  as  to  whether  they  would  be  what  might  be  liked  for 
acceptance. 

April  23,  1900. 

I  am  doing  just  as  you  bid  me,  and  after  a  little  look  at 
Mr.  Garton's  paper,i  which  I  am  sure  must  contain  a  deal 
of  solidly  valuable  information,  I  have  laid  it  aside  to  wait 
your  helpful  guidance.  I  have  a  letter  just  now  from  Dr. 
Fream  saying  he  would  like  very  much  to  come  to  meet 
you  (as  I  begged  him),  but  cannot  manage  it.  I  am  looking 
forward  exceedingly  to  much  useful  and  pleasant  talk.  I 
generally  go  to  church  at  St.  Michael's  (where  Lord  Bacon 
is  buried)  in  the  morning,  but  there  is  much  good  music  at 
the  Abbey  close  by,  and  you  would  do  everything  I  hope 
just  exactly  as  you  like  best.     Yours  very  sincerely, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 

'  "  On  the  Production  of  New  Breeds  of  Crop  Plants  by  Multiple 
Cross-fertilisation." 


CHAPTER  XXV 

LETTERS  TO  PROFESSOR  WALLACE  AFTER  THE  GRADUATION 

London  Farmers'  Club  Notice — Volumes  of  George  Ormerod's  drawings  and 
a  painting  of  Miss  Ormerod  presented  to  the  University — Handbook  of 
"Forest  Insects" — "Recollections  of  Changing  Times" — Papers  on 
"  Stock  Flies." 

The  letters  in  this  chapter,  written  between  the  end  of 
April  and  the  middle  of  November,  1900,  cover  a  period  of 
extraordinary  literary  activity.  Encouraged  by  the  gratify- 
ing manner  in  which  her  academic  distinction  had  been 
acknowledged  by  friends  and  public  bodies,  Miss  Ormerod 
began  with  renewed  vigour,  and  with  something  almost  akin 
to  prophetic  instinct  of  what  was  to  come  in  the  not-far- 
distant  future,  to  produce  and  to  arrange  for  the  production 
of,  the  literature  that  was  needed  to  complete  her  life-work 
and  to  be  a  record  of  it.  Another  conspicuous  feature  of 
this  chapter  is  the  practical  means  she  adopted  to 
immediately  show  gratitude  to  the  University  for  the  per- 
spicacity shown  by  conferring  its  degree,  which  was 
treasured  by  her  above  all  things  as  the  highest  possible 
recognition  of  her  scientific  labours. 

To  Professor  Robert  Wallace,  University  Edinburgh. 

April  29,  1900. 
Dear  Professor  Wallace, — I  have  been  reading  parts 
of  the  ^'  advance "  proof  of  your  paper  [to  be  read  before 
the  London  Farmers'  Club  in  April,  1900],  and  it  seems  to 
me  capital,  and  to  meet  the  needs  plainly  and  practically.  I 
wish  you  much  success.  I  can  speak  from  personal  know- 
ledge as  to  want  of  dipping  being  excellent  for  increase  of 
Melophagus  ovimis  [so  called  sheep  tick]  (fig.  25). 


300  LETTER  FROM  SIR  WM.  MUIR      [Chap.  xxv. 

Mr.  Druce  [Secretary  of  the  Club],  writes  me  kindly  that 
he  intends  to  propose  a  vote  of  congratulation  to  me  to- 
morrow on  the  honour  conferred  on  me  by  the  Edinburgh 
University,  and  this  would  be  a  great  pleasure  to  me,  for 
I  feel  it  a  very  great  honour  indeed.  From  many  good 
quarters  I  am  receiving  letters  on  this  point,  also  on  the 
benefit  to  agriculture  which  the  approval  of  Edinburgh 
will  give, 

April  30,  iQcx). 

I  am  arranging  with  Elliott  and  Fry,  the  photographers, 
55,  Baker  Street,  that  they  should  send  down  a  '^  repre- 
sentative "  on  Monday  with  proofs  of  photos,  the  bearer  to 
be  here  by  train  arriving  at  about  half-past  ten  a.m.  But  the 
truth  is,  that  if  you  think  I  might  ask  acceptance,  just  as 
their  first  Hon.  Lady  LL.D.,  I  should  very  much  like  to 
offer  to  the  University  one  of  Elliott  and  Fry's  life-size 
chalk  or  oil  portraits  executed  in  their  best  way  as  a 
remembrance  of  the  14th  of  April.     Do  you  think  I  might  ? 

I  am  glad  to  know  they* spoke  kindly  of  me  at  the 
Farmers'  Club.  I  am  sure  I  have  some  good  friends  there, 
and  I  thought  it  very  kind  of  them  to  send  me  their  vote  of 
congratulation  on  my  great  honour. 

[The  London  Farmers'  Club,  at  its  April  meeting,  1900, 
passed  with  acclamation  the  following  resolution  : — 
^'That  the  hearty  congratulations  of  the  Club  are  hereby 
offered  to  its  Honorary  Lady  Member,  Miss  Eleanor  A. 
Ormerod,  upon  the  distinguished  dignity  of  LL.D.  recently 
conferred  upon  her  honoris  causa  by  the  University  of 
Edinburgh."  A  copy  of  the  resolution  was  transmitted 
by  the  Secretary  to  the  Senatus  of  the  University  of 
Edinburgh.] 

May  II,  1900. 

Dear  Professor  Wallace, — I  had  the  books  very  care- 
fully packed  and  sent  off  to-day,  by  luggage  train,  as  they 
made  rather  a  heavy  consignment.  [Volumes  of  her  father's 
drawings,  and  copies  of  the  "Manual  of  Injurious  Insects" 
for  free  distribution.] 

You  will  see  I  put  a  little  note  into  the  copies  of  the 
Manual,  at  "  Red  Spider,"  just  in  some  degree  to  bring 
the  matter  of  position  of  the  spinning  glands  up  to  date  ; 
I  do  not  know  of  any  other  point  that  needs  correcting. 

I  enjoyed  your  visit  exceedingly,  and  not  only  that,  but 
you  would  hardly  believe  what  a  great  amount  of  useful 
information  you  conveyed  to  me  in  the  course  of  our 
conversations,  as  to  many  matters  at  Edinburgh.     All  these 


1 


.-"T-t  .      '^ 


/^. 


4    I  r:  "^ 


3  ? 

on  ,o 

w  I 

o  S 

I  i 


-f 


A 


I900.]  THANKS   FOR   SKETCHES  301 

I  have  carefully  noted,  for  though  I  do  not  really  hold  any 
post  among  you,  yet  I  like  to  think  myself  now  not  wholly 
separate,  and  I  should  be  entirely  thankful  should  need 
occur  at  any  time  to  avail  myself  of  your  permission  to 
apply  to  you  for  advice.  My  friends  greatly  enjoyed  all 
you  said  at  lunch,  and  I  shall  hope  you  will  come  again 
presently. 

I  have  written  to  Sir  Wm.  Muir  about  my  father's  books 
of  sketches,  but  in  real  truth  I  feel  such  a  fear  of  intruding 
on  his  high  official  position  that  I  only  just  said  what  I 
thought  was  quite  needed,  but  I  entered  a  little  more  on  the 
matter  to  Mrs.  Arbuthnot. 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 

The  Librarian  wrote  : — 

Library,  University  of  Edinburgh, 

May  16,  1900. 

Dear  Madam, — I  really  do  not  know  how  to  thank  you 
for  the  honour  you  have  done  our  University  Library  by 
making  it  the  custodian  in  perpetultatan  of  the  delightful 
collection  of  sketches  and  water  colours,  the  arrival  of 
which  has  made  the  15th  of  May  a  red-letter  day  for  the 
Librarian  at  least.  You  will,  I  hope,  be  pleased  to  know 
that  the  priceless  volumes  have  been  placed  in  a  room 
already  rendered  a  sanctum  by  relics  of  such  notable 
names  as  Shakespeare  and  Burns,  Hus  and  Knox,  Queen 
Mary  of  Scotland,  King  James  VI.,  Queen  Elizabeth,  &c., 
not  to  mention  Halliwell-Phillipps  and  David  Laing,  both  of 
whom,  I  doubt  not.  Dr.  George  Ormerod  would  have 
recognised  as  his  colleagues  and  peers.  Professor  Wallace 
has  duly  received  his  volumes.  The  drawings  have  been 
shown  to  Sir  William  Muir,  who,  I  believe,  is  to  thank  you 
personally  and  who  will  lay  them  on  the  table  at  the  next 
meeting  of  the  Universitv  Court. 

H.  A.  Webster. 

Sir  William  Muir  wrote  : — 

University  of  Edinburgh, 

'June  29,  1900. 

Dear  Miss  Ormerod, — Your  six  volumes  of  drawings 
were  yesterday  shown  to  the  University  Court  (as  they 
already  had  been  to  the  Senatus),  and  were  well  received 
and  valued  by  them.  And  I  was  asked  to  communicate 
their  obligations  to  you  for  them.  They  will  be  placed  in 
the  Library,  and  will  be  remembered  as  the  gift  of  our 
First  Lady  Graduate,  LL.D. 

W.  Muir. 


302     LETTERS  TO  PROFESSOR  WALLACE     [Chap.  xxv. 

May  24,  1900. 

Dear  Professor  Wallace, — Will  you  kindly  accept 
the  enclosed  photograph.  It  does  not  seem  to  be 
quite  me,  but  "  me "  does  not  quite  know  myself  yet 
in  cap  and  gown.  At  least  it  may  remind  you  some- 
times of  most  hearty  gratitude  for  all  your  kind  care 
which  enabled  me  to  come  to  personally  receive  the  great 
honour  symbolised. 

Dr.  MacDougall  was  good  enough  to  send  me  some 
splendid  specimens  of  bark  infested  by  Hylesinus  creiiaUis 
(Greater  ash-bark  beetle),  which  have  enabled  me  to  figure 
this  attack.  I  should  like  very  much  indeed  to  form  a 
*' Handbook  of  Insects  Injurious  to  Forest  Trees,"  and  I 
have  a  mass  of  material  in  my  Annual  Reports  bringing  the 
subject,  I  think,  up  to  date,  and  a  beautiful  supply  of  figures, 
but  there  is  such  a  run  of  application  and  correspondence 
that  I  do  not  see  my  way  to  doing  it  myself — and  yet  it 
seems  a  pity  for  the  information  to  be  lying  compara- 
tively idle. 

May  29,  1900. 

Now  I  must  say  that  you  wrote  exactly  what  I  was  wish- 
ing about  my  proposed  book,  '^  Insects  Injurious  to  Forest 
Trees."  ^  In  case  Dr.  MacDougall  would  not  think  me  taking 
a  liberty  in  suggesting  the  plan,  I  should  very  much  indeed 
like  to  have  the  benefit  of  his  skilled  help  in  preparing  the 
book,  that  is  bringing  it  out  in  collaboration  with  him,  and 
with  our  names  on  the  title-page.  Would  you  kindly  take 
the  trouble  when  you  see  him  to  lay  the  matter  before  him, 
for  I  scarcely  like  to  come  upon  him  suddenly  without,  so  to 
say,  a  "  sponsor."  My  idea  is  that  the  forest  attacks  would 
work  out  much  like  the  papers  in  my"  Handbook,"  of  which 
of  course  I  would  gladly  send  a  copy  for  his  acceptance  as  well 
as  material,  /.6'.,  Annual  Reports  or  sometimes,  if  more  con- 
venient, extracted  papers  and  a  copy  of  **  General  Index." 
I  would  undertake  all  expenses,  i.e.,  printing,  publishing, 
furnishing  figures,  and  the  like.  I  think  I  have  of  my  own 
nearly  as  many  of  good  up-to-date  illustrations  as  we  should 
need  to  illustrate  every  attack,  but  where  additions  are 
needed  I  propose  (as  I  am  doing  now  from  one  of  Dr. 
MacDougall's  specimens)  to  have  them  figured  from  life 
by   Mr.  Knight.^     I  fancy  the  book  would  be   about   two- 

'  A  suggestion  that  Dr.  MacDougall  should  collaborate  with  Miss 
Ormerod  in  bringing  out  the  book. 

^  Messrs.  Knight,  one  or  other,  have  been  my  artists  for  many  years. 
I  should  like  the  printing  to  be,  as  usual,  in  the  hands  of  Messrs.  West, 
Newman  &  Co.  Mr.  T.  P.  Newman  has  superintended  my  printing  for 
so  many  years.     (E.  A.  O.) 


I900.]  FOREST    INSECT   TEXT-BOOK  303 

thirds  as  long  as  my  **  Handbook  of  Orchard  Fruits,"  but 
being  intended  at  first  for  University  services,  possibly  the 
plan  would  be  different.  This  he,  you,  and  possibly  Colonel 
Bailey  [lecturer  on  Forestry  in  Edinburgh  University]  might 
have  a  word  to  say  about.  I  should  like  very  much  to  hear 
from  you  on  the  subject,  and  perhaps  from  Dr.  MacDougall. 

June  5,  1900. 

You  will  tell  me  presently  when  you  can  come,  but  would 
not  Mr.  John  Garton  [of  Newton-le- Willows,  Lancashire,  the 
originator  of  the  scientific  system  of  producing  new  breeds 
of  crop  plants  by  multiple-crossing]  come  too  ?  I  should 
like  it  very  much  if  it  were  agreeable  to 'him,  as  there  are  so 
.many  points  of  interest  we  three  could  go  over  together. 
You  could  assure  him  that  he  can  be  as  quiet  as  ever  he 
likes,  and  rest  in  his  own  room,  just  as  he  pleases.  Will  you 
both  come  on  Saturday  for  Sunday  ?  When  you  come  we 
can  have  a  good  talk  about  the  *' Forestry  Insect  Text  Book." 
I  am  very  glad  to  have  it  from  you  that  Dr.  MacDougall  likes 
the  idea  of  colleagueship.  I  have  had  a  very  nice  letter  from 
him  with  promise  of  one  of  details  to  follow,  but  when  I 
found  that  he  had  been  collecting  notes  for  some  years,  I 
felt  so  very  uneasy  lest  he  should  think  me  intruding  on  his 
projects  (in  fact  very  presumptuous)  that  I  wrote  him 
specially  on  this  head.  I  shall  be  delighted  to  put  every 
morsel  of  observations,  and  blocks,  and  all  I  can  to  help  at 
his  service,  but  it  is  to  his  skill  that  I  look  to  form  the  book 
into  what  he  knows,  much  better  than  I,  will  suit  University 
needs. 

The  weather  surely  needs  a  little  putting  to  rights.  It 
caught  me  rather  sharply,  and  I  have  had  to  spend  some 
days  in  bed,  but  I  am  up  again  now,  and  getting  some 
good  observations. 

P.S. — I  have  some  such  nice  letters  from  Edinburgh  about 
my  photo.  A  very  charming  one  from  Sir  Ludovic  Grant, 
also  from  Professor  Seth.  ^  I  mean  to  keep  them  as  great 
treasures. 

June  14,  1900. 

I  am  in  receipt  of  a  long  letter  from  Dr.  MacDougall 
about  the  text-book  of  ^^  Forest  Insects,"  and  it  seems 
to  me  that  his  plan  is  excellent.  For  my  good  folks,  who 
want  the  plainest  facts  fairly  driven  into  their  heads  in  the 
very  plainest  words,  I  think  it  would  be  too  scientific  in  the 

'  Professor  James  Seth  delivered  the  address  to  student  graduates 
at  the  ceremonial  at  which  Miss  Qrmerod  received  the  LL.D. 


304     LETTERS  TO  PROFESSOR  WALLACE     [Chap.  xxv. 

possession  of  special  entomological  chapters,  but  I  quite 
think  in  the  present  case  these  are  needed,  and  my  only  fear 
is  lest  he  should  wish  me  to  collaborate  in  these.  All  the 
rest  I  think  I  should  be  quite  at  home  in^  and  I  am  going  to 
write  him  about  it,  as  I  should  very  much  like  the  joint 
work. 

I  am  writing  down  bits  (long  or  short  as  they  come  into 
my  head)  of  "  Recollections,"  on  pages  with  appropriate 
headings  in  my  letter  book,  which  usually  lies  on  the  table 
most  of  the  day,  so  is  at  hand  ;  and  most  miscellaneous 
reminiscences  go  in  which  I  feel  sure  I  should  not  have 
courage  to  think  of  giving  excepting  on  our  plan.  I 
rather  think  they  might  be  interesting,  and  I  mean  to  see  in 
good  time  about  the  shorthand  writer.  The  head  reporter 
of  our  best  local  paper  can  take  down  well  a  report  from 
my  dictation.  Do  not  you  think  that  if  we  can  get  the 
^'Recollections"  (how  would  "  Recollections  of  Changing 
Times  "  do  for  a  title  ?)  into  shape  that — instead  of  publish- 
ing as  I  usually  do  with  any  amount  of  trouble  and  little 
return  for  the  expense — it  would  be  a  good  plan  to  offer 
the  MS.  to  some  publisher,  who  might,  I  think,  take  it  off 
my  hands  on  terms  to  be  agreed  upon  ?  But  when  next  we 
meet  I  hope  we  shall  go  into  all  these  matters  comfortably, 
as  you  say,  '^  after  dinner." 

P.S. — The  French  medal  (plate  xxii.)  appeared  to-day  in 
a  registered  letter.  I  wonder  whether  Professor  Ewart  has 
got  his  ?  I  have  information  of  the  worst  attacks  of  eel- 
worms  in  broad  beans  that  I  ever  saw,  after  oats  in  the 
spring  of  1898  and  of  1899. 

July  18,  1900. 

I  feel  sure,  wherever  you  are,  that  you  are  so  much  occu- 
pied that  you  have  not  a  morsel  of  spare  time,  but  if  you 
could  presently  give  me  a  little  advice  it  would  be  of  great 
value  to  me.  I  was  urged  to  let  my  name  be  put  on  the 
Agricultural  Education  Committee,  and  agreed,  and  by  way 
of  something  solid  I  suggested  that  I  should  form  a  set  of 
papers  on  ''  Common  Fly  attacks  to  Farm  Stock,"  and  I  set 
to  work.  But  as  I  go  on  I  really  think  that  they  are  more 
fitted  for  regular  agricultural  work,  and  I  should  value  a  few 
words  of  guidance  from  you  very  much.  The  subjects  I  am 
thinking  of  taking  as  what  I  know  personally  are  :  Sheep — 
Nostril  fly,  with  note  of  ''Gad"  as  different,  and  "Spider" 
fly  ;  Horse— Bot  fly,  Forest  fly  ;  Cattle— Warbles,  Gad  fly, 
and  anything  else  that  might  occur. 

Nostril  fly  and    Horse    Bot  fly  shape    (as    I    think    you 


1900. 


FLIES   INJURIOUS   TO   STOCK 


305 


also  would  consider)  nicely,  brought  up  to  date  ;  and  in 
G.  equi  (Horse  Bot  fly,  fig.  10)  I  have  really  handled  the  only 
bit  of  the  subject  that  was  not  pleasant,  so  that  I  do  not 
think  anybody  could  object.  The  two  above-mentioned 
papers  are  about  ready  for  press.  But  what  I  wish  very 
much  is  that  you  would  kindly  let  me  know  your  view  of 
it.  Would  it  be  better  to  print  the  subjects  in  my  usual 
way,  as  leaflets,  or  make  them  into  a  little  pamphlet  ? 
G.  eqni  would  fit  nicely  into  a  four-page  leaflet.  QL.  ovisy 
(Sheep  Nostril  fly),  I  think  would  be  shorter ;  and  the 
short  papers  which  would  go  nicely  along  with  their  more 
important  brethren  in  a  pamphlet  rather  puzzle  me  how  to 
deal  with  if  in  leaflets.  I  have  excellent  figures,  and  in  an 
idea  (possibly  erroneous)  of  bringing  the  sequence  out  for 
the  Agricultural  Education  Committee,  I  wrote  a  sort  of  little 
"'  fresh  "  preface  on  the  creatures  collectively.     As  I  am  sure 


I,  Fly,  magnified,  line  showing  natural  length  ;  2,  maggot  ;  3,  mouth 
hooks  of  maggot  ;  and  4,  tail  segment,  showing  spiracles,  and  lobes, 
acting  as  organs  of  progression — all  magnified.     (After  Brauer.) 

FIG.   76. — sheep's  nostril   FLY,    OESTRUS  OVIS,   LINN. 


you  will  allow  me  the  pleasure  of  thinking  myself  in  some 
degree  a  colleague  of  yours  (and  if  I  drive  well  at  work  I 
should  hope  to  have  it  ready  for  your  winter  session),  I 
should  be  exceedingly  obliged  if  you  would  tell  me  whether 
you  think  pamphlet  or  leaflet  would  be  best.  [The  pam- 
phlet form  was  ultimately  adopted,  and  it  was  published  as 
*^  Flies  Injurious  to  Stock,"  &c.,  price  sixpence.] 

August  2,  1900. 
I  am  very  glad  that  Dr.  Fream  gave  a  good  notice  in  the 
*' Times,"  of  your  intended  series  of  lectures  on   Colonial 
and  Indian  Agriculture — it  will  be  a  noble  work,  and  I  am 
glad  you  are  enjoying  the  preparation. 

"  Reminiscences  "  are  lying  in  a  drawer,  for  there  is  such 
a  quantity  of  work  there  is  no  spare  time.     When  I  have  got 

21 


3o6     LETTERS  TO   PROFESSOR  WALLACE  [Chap.  xxv. 

the  first  sheet  of  "  Flies  Injurious  to  Stock,"  I  should  like  to 
send  one  to  you,  please  ;  not  to  trouble  you,  but  just  that 
you  may  see  how  it  is  getting  on. 

August  25,  1900. 

Mr.  EUiott  tells  me  that  ^^  the  oil  painting  "  is  to  be  quite 
ready  on  (or  about)  the  fourteenth  September,  and  I  have 
ordered  one  of  their  best  *^  rich  "  gilt  frames  in  which  it  is  to 
come  down  here.  I  hope  much  that  I  may  somehow  or 
other,  be  able  either  before  completion  or  here,  to  secure  the 
saving  of  anxiety  to  my  mind  by  your  seeing  it.  But  I  have 
not  as  yet  written  to  submit  my  suggestion  of  acceptance  to 
Dr.  Taylor,  for  may  be  I  had  better  see  what  I  look  like  first. 

Enclosed  are  two  sheets  of  my  progressing  little  pamphlet. 
Please  do  not  trouble  yourself  by  readin  gthem,  but,  if  at 
any  time  you  care  to  glance  over  them,  I  hope  you  will  like 
them.  I  had  no  idea  till  I  set  regularly  to  work  what  need 
there  was  of  bringing  the  matters  up-to-date.  I  think  the 
brochure  seems  likely  to  run  to  about  three  and  a  half 
sheets,  with  Index.  When  you  come  you  shall  tell  me, 
please,  whether  you  will  let  me  offer  some  for  your  class. 
1  should  very  much  like  to — and  you  will  tell  me  too, 
about  Manuals.^ 

September  ^,  1900. 

It  was  a  great  pleasure  to  me  to  receive  both  your  letters, 
but  I  was  afraid  of  intruding  too  much  on  your  time,  so 
I  put  off  thanking  you  for  them  till  I  received  the  enclosed 
proof  this  morning.  It  is  a  real  comfort  to  me  that  you  can 
approve  of  my  little  pamphlet,  for  I  have  been  very  anxious 
over  it,  and  I  hope  you  will  think  sheet  ^^  D  "  right.  I  am 
delighted  to  be  allowed  to  send  it  to  you. 

At  page  33  you  will  see  I  have  utilised  the  colouring  of 
the  eyes  of  the  Tahanidce  (Gad  flies),  specially  for  identifica- 
tion. I  do  not  think  this  point  is  much  brought  forward,  and 
I  found  it  very  useful.  Many  thanks  for  your  two  pam- 
phlets and  suggestion  re  dips.  I  have  been  studying  your 
S.S.,2  and  mean  to  try  to  get  a  little  bit  into  my  paper  as 
an  addendum.  Also  I  want  to  study  your  '*  Nature  Know- 
ledge" [opening  lecture  to  a  class  of  teachers.]  I  don't 
seem  to  understand  this  subject  yet,  and  your  address,  I  feel 
sure,  will  help  me  very  much. 

^  One  hundred  copies  of  Miss  Ormerod's  Manual  of  Injurious 
Insects,  were  distributed  gratuitously  to  persons  specially  selected 
by  us  as  likely  to  be  interested  in  the  subject  matter  and  capable 
of  spreading  a  knowledge  of  it  (Ed.). 

""  Lecture  at  the  London  Farmers'  Club  on  Sheep  Scab. 


i9oa]  DR.  MACDOUGALL  AND  CHINESE  MINISTER  307 

Yesterday  I  had  a  long  letter  from  Mr.  E.  P.  Stebbing, 
Chittagong,  Bengal^  accompanying  a  large  pamphlet  on 
'^  Injurious  Insects  of  Indian  Forests,"  published  by  the 
Indian  Government.  He  wrote  that  he  was  taking  up  the 
subject  of  Injurious  Insects  (agricultural  as  well  as  forest), 
and  that  the  Indian  Government  having  ^*  put  him  on 
special  duties  for  two  years  to  tackle  the  question,"  he 
wanted  me  to  advise  him  on  a  number  of  points.  I  am 
sure  I  do  not  feel  competent.  However,  I  wrote  him  as  well 
as  I  could,  and  had  to  look  up  the  shorthand  writer  we  have 
talked  about,  and  get  him  to  put  it  in  typewritten  form — 
so  I  helped  myself,  at  least.  When  I  get  the  copies  I 
propose  just  to  put  one  in  an  envelope  for  you  to  see  what 
I  have  been  suggesting.  But  I  only  send  it  because  you 
are  so  very  importantly  engaged  in  Indian,  &c.,  work.  I 
should  like  you  to  be  able  to  look  at  it,  if  you  like,  but  only 
if  you  like.  Pray  put  it  in  the  rubbish  basket  if  it  is  the 
least  trouble. 

Septemhei  25,  1900. 

Here  is  ^'  Prevention  and  Remedies,"  and  the  other  odds 
and  ends  for  "  Stock  Flies." 

"  The  picture  "  has  come,  and  I  think  that  as  Mr.  Elliott 
said,  it  is  really  a  ^^  great  success."  I  hardly  know  how  to 
comment  on  my  own  appearance,  but  if  you  should  be 
writing  to  Dr.  MacDougall  he  would  tell  you  about  it.  I 
almost  think  I  shall  be  glad  when  it  goes  on,  it  is  such 
a  curious  feeling  to  have  my  own  eyes  looking  at  ttie 
so  steadily.  I  suppose  when  we  get  into  the  next  month 
I  may  write  in  form  to  Dr.  Taylor,  to  inquire  if  I  may  be 
permitted  to  ask  acceptance. 

I  very  much  enjoyed  Dr.  MacDougall's  visit.  We 
talked  Entomology  most  pleasantly,  and  I  think  arranged 
very  satisfactorily  all  necessary  preliminaries  for  our  proposed 
Forest  Insect  book.  The  little  visits  which  have  been 
given  me  this  summer  have  helped  me  very  much,  as  well 
as  being  a  great  enjoyment — though  none  so  much  as 
yours — and  it  is  a  fact,  as  you  mention,  that  if  the  ladies 
come  too,  it  perplexes  the  talk  very  much  !  I  want  to  learn 
all  I  can  in  the  time. 

September  27,  1900 
I  was  very  much  surprised  yesterday  to  receive  about  six 
dozen  large  Plant  bugs,^  with  a  communication  from  the 
Chinese  Minister  Plenipotentiary  (in  London),  over  his  own 

'  Tcssaroioni  a  fapilJosa,  Dravy.     (O.E.J.) 


3o8     LETTERS  TO  PROFESSOR  WALLACE     [Chap.  xxv. 

signature,  begging  for  information  as  to  how  to  prevent 
their  ravages  in  the  lee-chee  orchards  in  China.  It  seems 
very  odd  (in  the  present  state  of  affairs  especially)  that  the 
Chinese  Government  should  consult  me.^  However,  the 
treatment  wanted  was  plain,  so  I  hope  I  did  not  do  wrong 
in  replying  as  he  wished. 

October  i6,  1900. 

Lord  Grimthorpe  is  very  much  interested  about  your 
Indian  Famine  lecture,  and  he  would  very  much  like  to 
have  a  copy.2  I  think  he  will  do  what  he  can  to  study  it, 
likewise  expect  me  to  give  him  so  much  commentary  as  I 
can  ;  not  much  this,  I  am  afraid. 

I  assure  you  your  little  visit  was  a  great  pleasure  to 
me.  These  excellent  talks  freshen  me  up  delightfully  for 
dry  work.     I  shall  look  forward  to  some  more  in  due  time. 

October  21,  1900. 

I  do  not  know  how  to  thank  you  for  this  kind  gift.3  I 
know  how  to  value  such  a  literary  treasure,  and  to  me  it  is 
of  exceeding  interest  also  ;  but  as  your  gift  to  me  I  treasure 
it  much,  and  gratefully  thank  you  for  your  kind  thought. 
The  twelve  copies  of  "  Indian  Famine  "  preceded  it  an  hour 
or  two  yesterday  afternoon,  and  I  am  reading  it  carefully 
and  slowly  (that  I  may  thoroughly  appreciate  it),  and  with 
great  admiration ;  indeed,  I  think  such  a  clear  condensation 
of  the  mass  of  information  to  be  dealt  with  is  splendid.  I 
have  sent  copies  to  Lord  Grimthorpe,  the  Bishop  of  St. 
Albans,  &c. 

With  my  very  kind  regards  and  grateful  thanks  for  all  the 
help  you  give  me,  which  is  a  great  deal  more  than  probably 
you  have  any  idea  of. 

October  26,  1900. 

I  am  delighted  to  read  both  the  letters  you  send,  but  what 
an  especial  pleasure  it  must  be  to  you  to  have  the  nice 
courteous  message  of  acceptance  sent  by  our  good  Queen. 
[In  acknowledgment  of  a  copy  of  the  address  on  *'  Famine 

'  We  were  at  the  time  actually  at  war  with  China,  although  nominally 
the  united  Powers  of  Europe  were  fighting  the  Boxers. 

^  A  digest  of  the  Indian  Famine  Commission  Reports  down  to 
October,  1898,  read  as  the  Inaugural  Address  on  the  opening  of  the 
course  of  "  Garton  Lectures"  on  Colonial  and  Indian  Agriculture. 
PubHshed  by  Oliver  and  Boyd,  Edinburgh. 

3  A  copy  of  Quasi  Cursores,  portraits  of  the  high  officials  and 
professors  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh  and  its  Tercentenary  Festival. 
Drawn  and  etched  by  William  Hole,  A.R.S.A.  David  Douglas,  Edin- 
burgh, 1884. 


I900.]  INDIAN    FAMINE    LECTURE  309 

in  India."]  I  congratulate  you  exceedingly.  How  much 
you  must  treasure  it  !  Thank  you  very  much  for  letting  me 
see  it,  and  also  that  from  the  Chancellor  [of  the  University, 
the  Right  Hon.  A.  J.  Balfour]. 

My  people  have  been  much  pleased  to  receive  the  copies 
you  kindly  let  me  give  them,  and  Dr.  Lipscomb  has  asked 
me  to  thank  you  for  him.  But  I  do  not  know  that  any  one 
has  been  more  interested  than  Mr.  T.  P.  Newman.  He,  as 
one  of  the  *'  Friends,"  has  been  working  in  their  society  to 
help,  and  I  find  they  collected  ^^27,000.  [The  Friends' 
Foreign  Mission  Association  collected  this  sum  to  use  in 
relief  of  the  famine  of  1900]. 

October  29,  1900. 

I  have,  with  much  pleasure,  written  to  Messrs.  West, 
Newman  &  Co.,  to  send  you  (to  University,  Edinburgh)  one 
hundred  copies  of  each  of  the  two  pamphlets.  Please  write 
when  some  more  (or  Manuals)  would  be  at  all  acceptable. 

I  am  placing  your  Famine  pamphlet  carefully,  so  I  have 
some  still  on  hand,  but  I  will  not  fail  to  ask  you  if  more  could 
go  out  well,  via  my  presentation.  I  have  been  studying  it 
to  the  best  of  my  power.  I  am  not  able  to  condense  such 
a  mass  of  information  fully,  but  this  is  what  I  think  1  have 
learnt.  These  famines  originate  meteorologically,  the  crops 
consequently  failing  for  want  of  moisture.  The  only  places 
(three  districts  if  1  remember  rightly)  exempt  from  them, 
are  so,  consequent  on  climatic  circumstances  or  irriga- 
tion. The  chief  preventive  measure,  being  irrigation,  is  not 
always  easy  of  application,  as,  for  instance,  the  possibility 
of  a  canal  raising  the  height  of  the  water-table  too  much. 
I  follow  to  some  degree  the  difficulty  of  bringing  relief 
arrangements  to  bear  on  special  bodies  of  men,  as  the 
weavers,  for  instance.  It  is  also  very  interesting  to  read  of 
the  method  of  dealing  with  the  ^'Wild  Tribes,"  their  power 
of  finding  wild  food,  and  of  bringing  in  wild  forest  pro- 
ducts adapted  for  sale.  Some  information  as  to  details  of 
kinds  of  food  and  preparation,  also  of  the  sums  of  money 
represented  by  Indian  names,  must  surely  remain  adherent 
to  one's  mind,  but  one  special  thing  is  the  splendidly 
arranged  work  of  our  Government,  which  is  a  comfort  to 
think  of.  I  inflict  the  above  on  you,  that  you  may  see  I 
have  really  been  trying  to  benefit  by  your  grand  work,  and 
I  do  congratulate  you  on  the  result  of  your  heavy  labour. 

November  8,  1900. 
I   should  be  very  thankful  if  you  would  tell  me  where 


310     LETTERS  TO  PROFESSOR  WALLACE     [Chap.  xxv. 

Professor  Jablonowski  might  safely  apply  for  sulphate  of 
copper  at  ^^an  acceptable  price"  !  I  could,  I  suppose,  look 
him  up  some  sort  of  an  address,  but  I  should  not  feel  sure 
it  was  trustworthy,  and  he  is  such  a  centre  of  work,  also  an 
old  correspondent,  I  should  much  like  to  help.  I  should  be 
very  much  obliged  if  you  could  conveniently  tell  me,  or 
him — he  is  director  of  the  Government  Entomological 
Station,  Budapest — where  he  could  get  a  price  list  and  a 
supply. 

I  have  been  ailing  with  some  sort  of  slight  feverish  and 
gout  attack,  but  nothing  serious,  and  I  am  up  again. 

To-day  Mr.  Newstead  is  come  to  see  what  the  experi- 
mental black  currants  are  doing  [in  the  garden].  I  gather 
that  even  soaking  the  cut-down  plants,  roots  and  all,  in 
methylated  spirit  has  not  proved  a  wholly  certain  means  of 
prevention  of  Gall  mite  (fig.  65).  If  so,  I  incline  to  think 
that  I  had  best  make  an  end  of  my  black  currant  hospital, 
there  is  no  use  in  simply  bringing  in  infestation. 

November  9,  1900. 

I  shall  be  delighted  to  see  you  at  next  week's  end,  Satur- 
day to  Monday,  17th  to  19th,  as  you  mention.  Many 
thanks  to  you  for  helping  me  to  an  answer  to  the  Budapest 
professor  about  the  sulphate  of  copper.  I  fancy  *^the 
picture"  would  arrive  this  morning  at  the  University.  I 
hope  it  will  give  satisfaction,  and  I  make  no  doubt  that  it 
will  have  great  honour  done  to  it  in  the  hanging.  Perhaps 
some  day  I  may  see  it  ! 

"  Reminiscences  "  had  not  been  getting  on,  on  paper,  but 
when  your  letter  arrived  I  took  up  a  pen  and  wrote  like  a 
very  whirlwind  some  points  that  were  in  my  mind  regarding 
the  beginning  of  my  insect  studies.  I  wonder  what  you  will 
think  of  them.  I  hope  to  have  some  progress  to  show  you. 
I  am  having  twenty  feet  accommodation  for  books  put  up 
in  my  dining-room.  I  think  this  will  look  well  and  be  very 
convenient. 

Yours  very  sincerely, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 


The  Rev.  Professor  Taylor,  Secretary  of  the  University 
Court,  wrote  : — 

November  10,  1900. 
Dear  Miss  Ormerod, — The  portrait  has  arrived   unin- 
jured.    It  is  an  excellent  likeness,  and  with  gown,  hood  and 


I900.]        OIL   PAINTING   OF   MISS   ORMEROD  311 

cap,  vividly  recalls  what  is  in  reality  an  event  of  historical 
importance  as  well  as  a  most  interesting  graduation 
ceremonial.  I  propose  to  have  it  placed  so  that  it  may  be 
on  view,  so  to  speak,  to  the  members  of  the  University 
Court  on  Monday  at  their  meeting  of  that  day,  and  to  the 
members  of  the  Senatus  Academicus  when  they  next  meet. 
Thereafter  it  will  no  doubt  find  a  permanent  place  on  our 
walls. 

I  would  venture  to  tender  anew  the  thanks  and  best 
wishes  of  the  University  Court,  and  with  the  assurance  of 
my  profound  esteem,  beg  to  remain,  dear  Miss  Ormerod, 

Sincerely  yours, 

M.  C.  Taylor. 

November  14,  1900. 
Dear  Professor  Wallace, — This  is  very  kind  of  you  ; 
it  is  a  great  pleasure  to  me  to  know  that  I  am  allowed  to 
hold  such  an  honourable  place,  and  I  thank  you  very  much 
for  all  the  trouble  that  you  have  been  taking.  I  really  do 
not  know  how  to  express  what  I  feel  about  all  the  kindness 
shown  me,  but  you,  knowing  how  I  have  been  situated  till 
the  University  of  Edinburgh  showed  me  such  honour  and 
kindness,  will  believe  the  heartfelt  comfort  and  encourage- 
ment it  is  to  me  to  have  their  authoritative  approval  and 
support.  But  this  is  private  to  you.  ^^The  Chancellor' 
and  Secretary  might  think  I  was  tete  montee  if  I  wrote  in 
such  a  fashion.  I  have  had  some  nice  letters,  two  from  Dr. 
Taylor  and  a  charming  little  letter  last  evening,  delightfully 
worded,  from  Sir  Wm.  Muir.  I  am  going  to  look  at  the 
picture  of  Lord  Inglis  again  in  your  beautiful  book 
(^^  Quasi  Cursores  "),  that  I  may  see  whom  I  am  allowed  to 
sit  next  to  in  this  very  distinguished  company,  but  I  am 
writing  to  catch  the  post  now,  so  I  only  thank  you  also  for 
the  papers  which  I  have  not  yet  had  time  to  give  my  head 
to.     With  most  kind  regards  and  hearty  thanks. 

November  15,  1900. 
I  feel  I  gave  a  very  insufficient  acknowledgment  (writing 
in  a  hurry  last  night)  for  all  the  kind  care  and,  I  feel  sure, 
no  small  trouble  you  have  been  taking  about  putting  my 
*^  representation  "  nicely  on  view.  I  have  refreshed  my 
memory  of  Lord  Inglis,  and  indeed  I  feel  I  have  a  right  to 
be  proud  that  my  portrait  is  allowed  to  be  placed  by  such  a 
grand  representation  of  such  a  distinguished  man.  I  am 
glad  the  '*  Court "  liked  the  picture  in  itself  (I  urged  all 
concerned  to  good  execution),  and  indeed  it  is  a  pleasure  to 


312      LETTERS  TO  PROFESSOR  WALLACE    [Chap.  xxv. 

me  to  think  that  the  memory  of  endeavours  at  least  to  work 
of  E.  A.  O.  will  be  so  markedly  protected  by  the  University. 
Yours  very  sincerely, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 

P.S. — My  new  arrangement  of  books  is  so  convenient,  it 
helps  me  almost  as  much  as  an  assistant !    (E.  A.  O.) 


PLATE      XXIX. 


Eleanor  Anne  Ormerod,  LL.D.,  F.E.Met.Soc. 
First  Woman  Hon.  Graduate  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh, 

1900. 

From  the  oil  paintiiuj  {Acadonic  costume)  in  the  University  Courtroom, 
{p.  306.) 


To  face  p.  312. 


CHAPTER   XXVI 

LETTERS   TO   PROFESSOR  WALLACE      (concluded) 

The   "  Reminiscences "   and  the  last  Annual    Report — Warnings  of    serious 
illness — Proposed  pension — Gradual  loss  of  strength — Death. 

This  closing  chapter  records  the  peaceful  close  of  the 
wonderful  career  of  a  remarkable  gentlewoman  who  devoted 
her  life  to  work  in  the  successful  effort  to  benefit  her  fellow 
men.  The  pages  are  replete  with  human  nature  and  human 
sympathy,  and  full  of  unselfish  interest  in  the  interests  of 
others  whom  she  numbered  among  her  sympathetic  friends 
and  trusted  confidants.  The  ^^  Reminiscences "  on  which 
she  did  but  desultory,  yet  interested,  work,  during  the  in- 
tervals of  temporary  respite  from  the  burden  of  disease  and 
increasing  physical  exhaustion,  were  as  she  feelingly  ex- 
pressed it  "  a  perfect  blessing."  Her  letters  belonging  to 
this  period  are  a  noble  record  of  fortitude  and  resignation 
during  a  trying  struggle  for  health  and  life,  and  the  close  is 
touchingly  pathetic. 

To  Professor  Robert  Wallace,  University,  Edinburgh, 

November  19,  1900,  Monday  evening. 

Dear  Professor  Wallace, — 1  return  Sir  W.  Mac- 
gregor's  letter  ^  with  many  thanks  for  letting  me  see  it, 
for  it  is  very  gratifying.  It  is  a  great  pleasure  to  me  to 
see  how  those  who  understand  appreciate  your  work.  I 
am  very  glad  you  are  able  to  tell  me  that  you  enjoy  your 
visits  to  me,  but  next  time  I  hope  that  our  going  to  church 
may  be  of  a  less  airy  sort.  I  hope  that  you  did  not  get 
serious  harm  ?  2 

'  From  the  Governor  of  Lagos  arranging  a  personal  interview. 
^  This    reference    was    made   to   a    cold    draught    experienced    in 
church. 

313 


314     LETTERS  TO  PROFESSOR  WALLACE    [Char  xxvi. 

I  feel  much  pleasure  (not  to  say  relief)  at  results  of  our 
*^  Reminiscence  "  work,  and  at  all  those  papers  being  safely 
lodged  in  your  hands. 

P.S. — I  am  working  steadily  on  the  twenty-fourth 
Report,  but  if  a  bit  [of  ^^Reminiscences"]  comes  into  my 
head  (the  "  awen,"  as  the  Welsh  say),  I  mean  to  put  down 
the  ideas. 

December  5,  1900. 

Here  comes  such  a  long  story  [here  cut  short]  about  the 
^'Reminiscences."  I  hope  it  will  not  be  quite  too  tedious, 
but  really  I  think  we  are  thriving. 

A  messenger  has  just  been  down  from  London,  and  carried 
off  material  for  ten  illustrations. 

The  materials  for  letterpress  are  appearing  fairly  out  of 
holes  and  corners  also,  the  chief  prize  a  book  of  Memoranda 
for  1891,  by  my  sister  Georgiana,  giving  numbers  of  dates 
of  my  letters,  &c. 

I  was  glad  to  see  the  "Creameries"  ^  in  the  "Times,"  and 
glad  to  see  also  that  it  was  properly  placed  at  the  top  of  the 
column.     I  thought  you  wrote  very  firmly  and  well. 

P.S. — I  have  not  sent  [copies  of  the  Manual]  (though 
you  kindly  said  I  might)  to  the  Clubs.  I  have  not  the 
courage ;  so  many  of  the  members  might  not  care  for 
Economic  Entomology. 

December  15,  1900. 

I  think  I  am  being  very  good  !  in  seldom  letting  the 
"  Reminiscences "  meddle  really  with  work,  but  rest  time 
(wet  afternoons)  helps.  One  thing  more,  I  remembered  I 
had  a  part  given  me  by  my  mother  of  my  father's  "  queue  " 
(Anglice,  "  pigtail ")  cut  off  in  the  year  of  their  marriage, 
1808,  and  I  think  this  might  come  in  nicely. 

December  21,  1900. 
I  quite  forgot  to  thank  you  for  your  Indian  Examination 
questions,^  which  was  wrong  of  me,  for  I  like  very  much  to 
have  all  the  information  they  point  to,  though  I  am  afraid 
there  are  scarcely  two  I  could  answer. 

January  18,  1901. 
My  account  of  myself  is — I  am  fairly  well  all  but  rheu- 
matism ;    only,  last  Saturday   the   disaster   happened   of   a 
blood-vessel  breaking  in  my  left  eye.      These  affairs  seem 

'  A  letter  written  to  defend  the  position  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture 
for  Ireland  against  an  unwarranted  attack  of  a  Cork  correspondent 
of  the  London  "Times"  (Ed.) 

^  The  first  examination  paper  set  in  connection  with  the  "  Garton  " 
course  of  lectures  (Ed,). 


I90T.]         MISS   ORMEROD'S   REMINISCENCES  315 

seldom  of  consequence,  but  this  time  my  doctor  told  me 
(after  two  or  three  days)  that  he  did  not  remember  excepting 
from  external  circumstances  that  he  ever  knew  such  a  great 
breakage.  So  I  was  an  absolute  spectacle  for  some  time, 
but  the  sight  is  not  at  all  injured,  and  the  organ  recovering 
well,  and  I  may  write  as  much  as  I  like.  I  now  enclose  six 
more  illustrations — I  think  in  their  way  they  are  all  nice. 

January  27,  1901. 

As  you  kindly  say  that  even  more  than  a  good  report  of 
'^Reminiscences"  you  would  like  to  hear  I  am  better,  I  am 
truly  thankful  to  say  that  I  am  quite  as  usual  again,  and  my 
eye  recovered.  There  has  been  some  sort  of  illness  about 
but  I  had  it  very  lightly.  I  hope  the  very  bad  day  for  His 
Majesty's  Proclamation  brought  no  serious  harm  to  your- 
self. An  Edinburgh  "inquirer"  informed  me  that  he 
thought  numbers  of  the  spectators  would  catch  their  deaths 
of  cold.  I  was  truly  pleased  to  see  that  the  King  duly 
promised  to  support  ''The  Church  of  Scotland,"  a  matter 
I  have  more  at  heart  than  on  my  tongue  here  !  You  will 
value  Her  Majesty's  approval  of  your  "Indian  Famine" 
lecture  more  than  ever  now.  I  certainly  should  have  liked 
myself  to  have  a  tiny  bit  even  of  approval. 

"  Reminiscences." — This  is  just  for  your  best  leisure 
(and  pleasure)  to  advise  me  on,  but  I  very  much  need 
a  good  "  paper  talk  "  with  you  to  start  me  on  a  reasonable 
plan.  I  quite  believe  that  in  a  fortnight  or  sooner  I  may 
begin  regularly. 

But  now — publisher  !      Messrs.  A B wrote    me 

that  the  book  would  be  so  sound  it  would  be  sure  to  com- 
mand public  approval  and  they  would  like  to  publish.  Mr. 
Newman  wrote  he  thought  I  had  best  go  to  the  top  of  the 
tree,  and  suggested  John  Murray.  I  answered  that  in  real 
truth  the  very  idea  of  applying  to  such  a  leading  man  made 
me  quite  uneasy — and  yesterday  he  replied  that  as  he 
understood  you  were  aiding  me  in  the  work,  that  my  best 
course  would  be  to  ask  you  whether  when  the  time  comes 
you  would  act  on  my  part  with  a  publisher.  I  am  sure  he 
is  right — I  am  as  ignorant  as  a  reasonable  person  can  be  of 
how  to  "  approach  "  a  publisher,  but,  if  I  am  not  asking  too 
much,  it  would  indeed  be  a  relief  to  my  mind  if  you  think 
fit  to  give  me  this  help. 

If  it  is  possible  I  certainly  should  much  like  to  print  with 
Messrs.  West,  Newman  &  Co.  Is  it  possible  to  have  a  part 
of  the  book  printed  before  beginning  negotiations  just  to 
show  what  it  is  like  ? 


3i6     LETTERS  TO  PROFESSOR  WALLACE    [Chap.  xxvi. 

February  4,  1901. 

I  feel  sure  you  will  be  pleased  to  hear  that  this  morning 
I  sent  Messrs.  West,  Newman  &  Co.  all  that  I  believe  is 
needed  for  my  present  Annual  Report,  excepting  for  com- 
pletion of  Index;  and  I  have  really  begun  '^Reminiscences." 
Will  not  my  best  way  be  to  take  any  subjects  that  I  think 
I  have  enough  material  for,  and  work  them  up  just  as  I 
think  they  might  go  to  press  ?  Thus  you  would  see  how 
you  like  the  writing  and  suggest  improvements,  and  there 
would  be  something,  if  you  please,  to  show  a  publisher. 
Turning  to  your  letter — I  think  that  if  at  your  very  best 
leisure  you  would  kindly  let  me  have  the  parcel  of  MS. 
which  you  were  good  enough  to  take  for  safe  custody  it 
would  help  me  now. 

How  dreary  the  past  week  has  been  with  our  national 
sorrow  and  all  the  anxieties.  I  hope  we  may  be  more 
cheerful  now. 

February  8,  1901. 

Your  beautifully  secured  parcel  has  arrived  safely,  and  I 
have  locked  it  up  carefully  in  my  safe,  with  a  very  legible 
inscription  that  the  contents  are  the  property  of  Prof. 
Wallace,  University  of  Edinburgh.  There  is  nothing  like 
making  sure,  in  case  of  as  people  say  '' anything  happen- 
ing"  !  I  should  like  to  think  that  this  mass  of  documents^ 
which  I  have  been  accumulating  should  pass  to  your  hands. 

I  hope  the  work  for  your  lecture  ^  on  the  twelfth  prox.  is 
getting  on  quite  to  your  liking.  It  is  always  a  great  pleasure 
to  me  to  hear  your  plans  are  prospering. 

February  14,  1901. 

It  has  been  very  much  on  my  conscience  that  I  did  not 
say  a  word  in  my  hasty  letter  about  your  beautiful  and 
valuable  present. ^  How  very  pretty  it  must  be,  and  a  very 
great  pleasure  to  yourself  as  a  kindly  acknowledgment. 

About  the  ''Reminiscences" — what  you  suggest  about 
typewriting  is  just  what  I  should  like,  but  I  did  not  care 
to  trust  MS.  here.  Before  parleying  with  the  typewriters, 
I  should  like  very  much  mdeed  to  read  to  you  all  the 
papers  that  I  can  get  ready  before  the  ninth.  I  feel  a 
little  anxious  about  the  new  style  of  writing. 

February  21,  1901. 
I  have  made  up  a  good    bit  on  "birth,  childhood,  and 

^  A  paper  on  "  Agriculture  in  South  Africa,"  read  before  the  Royal 
Colonial  Institute  on  12th  of  March,  190T. 

^  A  silver  tea  service  of  Indian  work  presented  in  recognition  of 
a  public  service. 


I90I.]  PARTIAL   RETIREMENT  31? 

parentage "  (chap.  I.)  not  forgetting  with  "an  action  of 
humility"  !  Edward  I.,  and  Eleanor  of  Castille.  At  present 
1  have  ''Series  of  Annual  Reports"  (chap.  IX.)  on  hand, 
— very  pleasant  work. 

But  now  I  want  you,  please  (and  very  much  indeed),  to 
be  kindly  thinking  of  some  advice  about  my  entomological 
work  that  I  am  sure  you  could  help  me  greatly  with  when 
we  meet.  The  burthen  has  become  so  very  great  that  it 
seriously  affects  my  health.  I  am  in  bed  now  with  another 
of  these  attacks ;  the  constant  pressure  of  work  to  suit  other 
people's  time  and  convenience,  and  maybe  a  tremendous 
worry,  brings  on  painful  and  exhausting  illness.  I  hope  to 
be  up  again  to-day,  but  the  doctor  is  very  anxious  I  should 
— may  I  call  it? — "Take  in  sail."  My  wish  is  that  the 
present  Annual  Report  should  be  the  last  of  the  series 
with  an  addendum  slip  of  explanation  inserted.  There 
is  not  the  important  information  needed  or  forwarded 
that  there  was  twenty  years  ago,  and  working  hard  for 
months  over  so  much  repetition  is  dreadful  drudgery.  I 
heard  lately  from  Dr.  Fream,  and  he  very  strongly  advises 
me  to  drop  it.  If  your  opinion — which  I  thoroughly  trust 
— is  the  same,  I  should  have  no  doubt.  The  difficult  thing 
is  to  moderate  the  applications,  but  I  think  I  see  my  way  to 
that  very  nicely  by  having  plenty  of  the  addendum  slip 
printed  and  sending  a  copy  to  an  unreasonable  applicant. 
I  do  not  want  to  give  up  Entomology  entirely. 

How  nice  it  must  have  been  to  have  a  good  turn  at 
curling  ! 

February  24,  1901. 
In  answer  to  your  very  kind  letter  I  must  tell  you  I  am 
much  better.  It  was  quite  my  fault  that  I  got  so  out  of 
sorts  ;  I  ought  to  have  asked  my  doctor  weeks  ago  what 
was  amiss,  and  then  the  difhculty  of  how  I,  "  all  of  my  own 
head,"  was  to  get  that  "old  man  of  the  sea" — the  Annual 
Reports — off  my  shoulders,  came  on  me  like  a  brain  shock. 
However,  now  I  hope  things  are  getting  quite  nicely  into 
order  again.  Meanwhile  I  am  trying  to  arrange  what  can 
hardly  fail  to  be  a  rather  explosive  announcement.  When 
I  came  to  set  to  work  it  did  not  seem  to  me  that  an 
addendum  slip  would  do.  It  would  have  been  on  such 
different  lines  to  the  statements  in  the  Preface  that  folks 
would  have  wondered  what  could  have  happened  !  So  I 
mean  to  have  a  Cancel,  and  hope  all  will  be  nice. 

One  word  which  I  forgot — I  quite  hope  to  pass  on  quietly 
as  much  Economic  Entomology  as  I  possibly  c^n  to  Dr. 
MacDougall. 


3i8     LETTERS  TO  PROFESSOR  WALLACE    [Chap.  xxvi. 

March  i,  1901. 

This  is  very  kind  of  you,  and  if  you  are  very  much 
shocked  at  my  explicitness  please  consider  yourself  an 
extra  nephew,  M.D.  for  the  occasion,  and  put  this  in  the 
fire. 

I  have  had  a  kidney  attack.  I  believe  something 
^^ gouty"  (?)  has  been  wrong  for  weeks,  but  I  had  not 
asked  the  doctor  until  such  pain  set  in  that  there  were  no 
two  ways  about  it,  I  had  to  go  to  bed ;  and  he  put  me 
on  a  ^^ course"  (of  alkalis,  I  believe)  to  get  out  the  enemy. 
Of  course  this  was  very  weakening,  but  I  was  soon  up — 
and  really  absolutely,  I  believe  that  if  it  were  not  for  a 
nasty  barking  cough — very  tiresome  by  day,  and  more 
so  by  night — I  should  be  much  as  usual.  I  should  be 
grievously  disappointed  if  you  did  not  come  for  any  reason 
connected  with  me.  Speaking  very  selfishly,  and  besides 
all  the  good  the  pleasure  of  one  of  your  visits  does  me,  I 
do  not  feel  as  if  I  could  settle  comfortably  until  I  have  the 
benefit  of  your  sound  and  skilled  advice  about  how  to  re- 
arrange my  entomological  work. 

"  Reminiscences  "  are  in  enough  trim  to  show  you  some- 
thing of  even  now.^ 

March  2,  1901. 

I  am  so  sorry  regarding  what  I  am  writing  that  I  hardly 
know  how  to  put  it,  but  I  find  to-day  I  am  so  much 
pulled  down  that  I  am  obliged  to  tell  you.  It  would  be  a 
sad  disappointment  to  me  if  I  did  not  see  you,  but  my  nights 
are  so  bad  from  this  cough  that  I  cannot  depend  on  not 
having  to  ring  to  call  Miss  Hartwell  to  attend  to  me,  and 
this  makes  a  great  commotion.  I  believe,  as  I  wrote  you 
yesterday,  that  the  illness  (as  well  as  the  pain)  has  gone, 
but  it  is  the  cough  which  has  been  keeping  me  pulled  down, 
more  than  I  knew. 

March  4,  1901. 

Indeed,  you  are  quite  too  kind  and  good  to  me,  and  now 
I  want  to  say  that  my  doctor  says  he  does  not  see  any 
reason  why  I  should  not  be  able  to  enjoy  your  visit  on 
Sunday  next  without  any  difficulty  or  risk  whatsoever.  If 
it  was  convenient  to  you,  would  the  train  suit  that  would 
bring  you  to  St.  Albans  about  a  quarter  before  11  from  St. 

*  On  this  date  a  note  of  instructions  was  left  to  Miss  Ormerod's 
trustees  to  deliver  to  us  the  "  Reminiscences  "  papers,  &c.  The  end  of 
the  note  is  as  follows  : — 

"And  I  request  Professor  Wallace,  being  a  friend  in  whom  I  feel 
complete  confidence,  to  accept  the  above,  and  use  or  not  use  them  for 
the  purpose  precisely  as  in  his  good  discretion  he  may  think  fit." 


I90I.]  SERIOUS   ILLNESS  319 

Pancras,  and  could  you  stop  till  the  (I  think)  8.30  train  ?  I 
am  truly  sorry  not  to  be  looking  forward  this  week  to  a 
whole  week-end,  but  I  am  still  obliged  to  get  up  and  go  to  bed 
at  unusual  hours ;  but,  indeed,  I  am  very  much  better — the 
pain  went,  but  one  of  the  bad  sort  of  cold  or  cough  attacks 
followed  and  I  could  not  sleep  properly  for  three  nights 
nor  rest  lying  down.     Now  I  can  rest  and  sleep  again. 

March  7,  1901. 

Please  do  not  think  that  a  good  talk  tires  me  or  is  any 
strain.  It  is  the  want  of  conversation  that  I  find  so  wearing, 
and  there  is  so  very  much  that  it  will  be  quite  a  delight  and 
a  rest  for  me  to  be  allowed  to  go  over  with  you. 

I  am  writing  this  to-day  so  that  you  may  know  that  (so 
far  as  anything  in  this  world  is  certain)  there  is  no  possible 
reason  why  I  should  not  look  forward  to  the  pleasure  of 
our  meeting  next  Sunday.  I  am  not  able  to  give  you  my 
doctor's  verdict  for  the  good  reason  that  he  did  not  think 
I  needed  looking  up  yesterday. 

March  12,  190 1. 

You  do  not  know  how  good  and  kind  I  think  it  of  you  to 
let  me  rest  on  you  for  advice  in  this  way,  and  it  brings  a 
great  brightness  when  you  come  and  I  can  hope  you  are 
making  yourself  at  home.  I  am  glad  you  like  Mr.  Newman. 
I  always  feel  that  he  is  a  quite  true  and  well-judging  friend, 
very  kindly,  but  at  the  same  time  so  grave  that  I  do  not  at 
all  times  feel  free  to  express  all  I  am  thinking  about !  I 
fancy  that  you  "not  being  a  lady"  he  would  feel  freer  to 
express  what  was  uppermost. 

Thank  you  for  all  you  say  about  Mr.  John  Murray,  and 
very  especially  indeed  for  your  good  advice.  I  do  really 
mean,  and  am  trying  to  act  on  it,  but  cannot  you  imagine 
the  difficulty  in  not  working  as  hard  as  body  and  mind  will 
allow  ? 

However,  I  have  made  a  thorough  beginning  ;  amongst 
various  points,  returning  to  Mr.  Newman  a  great  bundle  of 
proofs  sent  to  be  looked  through,  just  think,  unlooked  at.  I 
also  disposed  of  a  regular  onslaught  with  special  letters  from 
Lady  Warwick  and  Miss  Edith  Bradley,  &c,  I  am  minding 
what  you  said  [about  curtailing  work]  very  nicely. 

I  am  thankful  to  say  I  am  feeling  better  every  day,  and 
I  am  looking  forward  very  much  to  being  a  better  kind  of 
hostess  if  you  will  kindly  spare  me  a  week-end  by  and  by. 

7  p.m. — You  are,  I  conjecture,  just  beginning  your  lecture 
[on  "Agriculture  in  South  Africa"].  I  hope  it  will  be 
thoroughly  pleasant  and  satisfactory  and  that  you  will  have 


320     LETTERS  TO  PROFESSOR  WALLACE    [Chap.  xxvi. 

a  comfortable  journey  home.  Please  accept  the  enclosed 
[the  twenty-fourth  and  last  Report].  I  have  only  received  a 
parcel  late  to-day,  but  I  want  to  send  you  a  copy  "  from  the 
writer." 

March  i8,  190 1. 

I  am  very  glad  your  colonial  lecture  was  successful. 
It  is  no  good  my  not  telling  you,  for  some  way  or  other 
you  would  have  an  idea,  but  I  have  not  been  thriving.  Of 
course  there  was  a  flood  of  letters  about  discontinuing  the 
Annual  Reports,  and,  however  kind  (and  some  were  very 
kind  indeed)  yet  not  being  in  full  working  order,  they  were 
rather  too  much,  and  I  got  feverish  **  rigors"  (though  not 
bad)  with  temperature  100°,  and  the  doctor  on  Saturday 
ordered  me  straight  off  to  bed.  Here  I  am  still,  but  as  far  as 
I  know,  now  only  as  a  matter  of  precaution.  I  would  not 
have  said  anything  about  it,  but  I  was  sure  you  would  have 
an  idea. 

Now  about  something  much  nicer.  I  wrote  to  Miss  Ash- 
worth  (28,  Victoria  Street,  London)  and  had  a  most  pleasant 
and  businesslike  reply.  She  told  me  that  publishers  pre- 
ferred quarto  size  and  typed  a  few  lines  to  show  the  size  of 
type  and  style  they  like  best  ;  and  I  sent  up  the  *'  Chartist 
Outbreak"  (chap.  VII.)  and  asked  her  to  type  it  for  me 
accordingly,  and  to  let  me  have  one  copy  and  two  carbon 
copies.  Thus  there  would  be  one  for  you,  one  for  me,  and 
the  third  would  be  useful  for  the  publisher.  I  should  be  very 
much  obliged  if  you  would  kindly  tell  me  how  to  offer  a 
copy  of  my  twenty-fourth  Report  to  the  University  Library. 
Would  it  be  sufficient  just  to  send  a  copy  c/o  The  Librarian. 
I  do  not  want  to  give  more  trouble  than  I  can  help  about 
such  a  little  thing. 

P.S. — I  assure  you  I  mean  to  attend  to  your  kind  advice 
of  not  making  what  might  be  a  great  pleasure  into  a  toil. 

March  20,  1901. 
Here  comes  the  first  instalment  of  "  Reminiscences  "  and  I 
hope  to  forward  more  to  you  in  due  course.  The  history  of 
^'  Rise  and  Progress  of  Annual  Reports"  is  in  Miss  Ashworth's 
hands.  Indeed,  I  am  very  thankful  to  you  for  helping  me 
about  the  typewriting.  I  had  no  idea  of  the  helpful 
difference  it  makes  even  to  me.  Please,  I  earnestly  beg 
of  you,  do  not  think  that  your  delightful  and  helpful  visit, 
only  too  short,  had  anything  to  do  with  my  having  to  caU 
in  the  doctor  again.  I  am  sure  he  does  not.  But  I  am 
sure,  too,  you  will  understand  how  very  trying  indeed, 
though  mostly  very  kind,  the  outbreak  of  newspaper  and 


I90I.]  PARTS    OF   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  321 

private  comment  on  what  they  call  "  my  retirement "  was. 
So  to  get  my  cough  really  cured,  and  drive  constitutional 
coincidences  out  of  the  field  I  went  to  bed  with  the  best 
possible  effects  (really).  I  think  the  doctor  will  let  me  get 
up  to-morrow,  but  he  wants  me  to  keep  safe  from  snow 
chills. 

March  24,  1901. 

Here  is  another  bit  [of  autobiography]  begging  your  read- 
ing when  you  are  inclined,  and  now  **  Birth,  Parentage,  &c.," 
is  gone  up  to  London.  I  should  so  very  much  like  (if  not  too 
much  trouble)  if  you  would  make  some  sort  of  mark  on  the 
margin  of  your  copy,  wherever  you  think  some  alteration  is 
needed,  and  then  when  I  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you 
here  we  could  go  comfortably  into  it. 

Now  (as  the  fates  permit)  I  am  working  on  "  The  Severn 
and  the  Wye  "  (chap.  V.),  and  I  think  it  will  be  interesting, 
there  is  such  a  variety  of  fresh  observation,  "  Fish,  fishers, 
and  fisheries,"  some  specialities  in  zoology  and  semi-marine 
botany,  and  something  of  a  good  many  sorts  of  things. 

I  am  much  mended  and  doctor  says  I  may  tell  you  I  am 
getting  on  all  right,  but  the  long  illness  has  puU.ed  me  down 
very  much  so  that  I  am  only  allowed  at  present  to  be  up  in 
my  own  room — such  a  little  thing  brings  the  cough  back 
and  we  have  snow  showers  still — but  as  soon  as  ever  I  can 
get  about  again  I  have  no  reason  to  doubt  I  should  be 
much  as  usual. 

March  29,  1901. 

I  seem  very  unlucky  this  winter,  but  on  Tuesday,  when  I 
hoped  I  was  pretty  well  again,  a  chill  so  bad  and  so 
strangely  sudden  seized  me,  that  breathing  got  hurried,  I 
could  not  speak  with  comfort,  and  an  acute  pain  set  in  in 
my  right  side.  Doctor  set  to  work  and  did  not  mention 
that  congestion  of  the  lungs  was  present,  but  taking  affairs 
at  once  did  great  good,  and  the  enemy  was  routed ;  still,  I 
am  a  good  deal  pulled  down,  and  do  not  mean  risking 
another  chill  at  present.  I  had  greatly  hoped  this  time  not 
to  tell  you  any  long  stories  about  my  health,  but  it  is  no 
good  pretending,  so  please  you  must  let  your  friendly 
sympathy  in  my  troubles  be  my  excuse. 

I  wonder  what  you  will  think  of  the  enclosed  [^^  copy"]. 
I  incline  to  think  the  subjects  are  rather  nice,  but  that  as 
we  get  on  bits  of  this  may  fit  into  future  papers,  or  of  future 
papers  here  ?  It  seems  to  me  best  to  write  whatever  I  can 
as  well  as  I  can  manage,  and  sift  by  and  by.  "  Am  not  I 
'umble  "  (as  Uriah  Heap  says)  about  Edward  I.  ?  (page  13). 

22 


322    LETTERS  TO  PROFESSOR  WALLACE     [Chap.  xxvi. 

April  I,  1901. 

I  know  I  shall  always  have  your  kind  sympathy  in  these 
unpleasant  visitations,  and  I  wish  they  did  not  come  to 
intrude  so  often.  But  this  time  I  really  and  truly  do  hope, 
unless  some  luckless  draught  gets  hold  of  me,  that  I  shall 
pick  up  quickly,  and  not  have  such  dreary  stories  to  tell  you. 

Dr.  Lipscomb  says  that  it  is  just  having  let  my  health 
run  down  that  is  the  reason,  and  I  mean  to  be  very  careful. 
I  am  up  in  my  room  part  of  the  day  comfortably,  and  hope 
to  get  downstairs  to-morrow. 

1  greatly  look  forward  to  a  good  talk  by  and  by  over 
many  matters,  and  I  was  very  sorry  that  Dr.  MacDougall 
could  not  come  this  week,  but  further  on  I  hope  we  shall 
have  a  chat.  You  will  doubtless  (or  very  likely)  have  seen 
flourishes  in  the  papers  about  a  testimonial !  to  my  unworthy 
self — but  to  my  horror  yesterday  I  had  a  letter  from  Mr. 

stating  that  he  was  trying  to  procure  a  pension  for  me ; 

and  the  Member  for  H and  (I  understood  Lord  ) 

would  most  likely  use  their  influence. 

Just  think  what  could  possess  him — what  a  to-do  there 
would  have  been.  But  I  wrote  earnestly  representing  how 
misappropriate  such  a  grant  would  be  to  a  person  so  well 
off  as  myself,  and  it  being  such  a  troublesome  matter,  I  got 
Dr.  L.  to  read  my  letter.  I  hope  I  may  have  quite  stopped 
his  operations  (and  politely),  but  assuredly  I  should  feel 
inexpressibly  lowered  if  I  accepted  a  "pension." 

I  have  been  collecting  for  "  Reminiscences  "  very  fairly 
well,  but  I  have  been  afraid  to  prepare  whole  papers  lest 
they  should  not  be  bright. 

April  2,  1901. 

I  must  write  a  line  to  give,  I  believe,  a  soundly  good 
report  of  myself  in  reply  to  your  letter,  which  arrived  4.50  ; 
it  is  very  good  of  you  to  write  so  kindly.  I  have  been  down 
to-day  for  about  six  hours,  and  I  do  hope  now  to  steadily 
regain  my  strength. 

You  will  let  me  have  your  address,  will  you  not  ?  And  I 
shall  hope  to  write  something  more  worth  reading. 

Mr.  has  on  my  urgent  representation  stopped  his 

applications  as  to  a  pension. 

P.S. — The  typewriting  seems  to  me  beautiful,  and  I  hope 
soon  to  have  more  work  ready. 

April  8,  1 90 1. 

You  will  know  from  your  own  experience  the  deluges  of 
publications  which  come — what  can  I  do  with  them  ?  They 
might  be  measured  by  feet,  if  not  by  yards.  Some  valuable, 
some 1 


1 


I90I.]   PENSION    PROPOSED,   BETTER   HEALTH        323 

Would  not  it  be  my  best  way  to  keep  them  all  until  you 
will,  as  I  hope,  come  some  day — and  you  could  see  if  there 
are  any  that  you  would  like.  Besides  what  are  of  no  very 
obvious  use,  there  are  quantities  of  amazingly  learned 
entomological  treatises  which,  in  case  they  do  not  float  in 
the  way  of  our  good  friend  Dr.  MacDougall,  he  might  at 
least  like  to  place  on  his  shelves.  You  will  tell  me,  will  you 
not,  some  time  what  you  advise  ?  Meanwhile,  with  all 
possible  good  wishes  and  kind  regards,  &c. 

April  19,  1901. 

I  should  like  to  give  you  a  better  account  of  myself,  but 
for  weeks  back  I  could  not  think  why  I  got  on  so  slowly, 
with  ^^  relapses,"  and  it  is  only  just  lately  that  I  have  ex- 
tracted out  of  my  good  doctor  that  the  illness  I  had  was 
that  horrid  influenza,  and  I  am  going  through  the  weeks 
and  weeks  of  '^  after  effects "  !  I  am  not  allowed  to  go 
down,  but  sit  up  a  few  hours  in  my  room,  and  am  certainly 
better,  but  1  am  told  I  must  not  expect  to  be  well  for  a  long 
time.  One  of  my  doctor  nephews  looked  in  yesterday,  and 
he  told  me  that  a  characteristic  of  some  of  the  influenzas 
which  have  been  about  is  that  they  do  not  seem  much  at 
the  time,  but  they  leave  those,  detestable  effects  on  the 
system. 

You  will  believe  how  very  pleasant  (as  I  get  stronger)  I 
find  looking  up  bits  for  ^'Reminiscences."  Miss  Hartwell 
brings  me  books,  and  I  can  "rummage"  and  copy.  Now 
I  enclose  you  some  pages,  of  which  I  think  some  part  is 
right,  but  I  did  not  feel  as  if  I  could  put  the  whole  paper 
right  until  I  had  it  typewritten. 

I  should  very  much  like  too  if  you  would  give  a  thought 
to  my  "Scriptural  Commentary"  (page  21).  I  do  not  see 
how  the  description  I  object  to  can  be  right.  I  hope  you 
will  think  the  paper  is  hopeful.  I  am  not  up  yet,  therefore 
please  excuse  this  stupid  scrawl,  and  with  my  very  kind 
regards  and  best  wishes,  &c. 

May  2,  1 90 1. 

How  I  long  for  the  day  to  come  when  I  may  tell  you  that 
I  am  well,  and  am  going  on  as  usual.  But  this  disgusting, 
tenacious  remains  of  influenza  seems  to  be  always  coming 
back.  I  had  got  on  to  coming  down  on  Friday  last  a  little 
after  9  a.m.,  and  was  full  of  hope  and  absolutely  striving  to 
recover,  but  yesterday  something  went  wrong,  so  I  am  on  a 
treatment  of  milk  and  seltzer-water  and  bed,  but  I  felt  I 
must  write  you,  and  hope  soon  to  send  you  a  much  better 
letter. 


324   LETTERS  TO  PROFESSOR  WALLACE     [Chap.  xxvi. 

"  Reminiscences  "  are  a  perfect  blessing,  and  I  enclose 
two  portraits  of  my  father  received  yesterday  to  show  the 
illustrations  are  getting  on.  Is  not  the  one  of  him  as  a 
little  laddie  of  about  five  years  old,  charming  ?     (pi.  xxx.) 

May  15,  1901. 

Many  thanks  for  the  additional  copy  of  your  lecture, 
"Agriculture  in  South  Africa."  It  is  so  interesting,  I  am 
sure  I  can  find  a  home  where  it  will  be  welcome.  I  was 
glad  to  find  you  were  out  in  the  country,  and  I  hope  the 
bracing  air  will  enable  you  to  work  on  this  load  of  papers 
without  killing  yourself. 

For  myself,  I  really  am  afraid  that,  excepting  hope,  I  have 
a  very  indifferent  account  to  give  you.  I  was  always  getting 
better  off  and  on  !  But  the  result  was,  that  I  got  weaker 
and  weaker,  until  on  Saturday  Dr.  Lipscomb  wired  for  Sir 
Dyce  Duckworth.  He  was  away,  but  my  nephew.  Dr. 
].  Arderne  Ormerod,  who  is  taking  Sir  D.  D.'s  practice 
at  present,  came  down,  and  I  think  the  change  of  treatment 
that  they  arranged  is  really  doing  good.  The  trouble  was 
that,  though  there  did  not  seem  any  reason  why,  what  they 
call  the  "  after  effects "  of  influenza  should  not  move  off 
(the  sort  of  gastric  catarrh  and  its  detestable  allies),  yet 
they  didn't,  and  my  medical  tormentors  made  up  their 
minds  that  it  might  be  from  "  Liver."  The  plan  has  been 
altered  as  to  treatment,  and  at  my  urgent  request  I  am 
allowed  to  take  one  glass  of  port  a  day,  and  I  do  think 
it  is  doing  me  a  great  deal  of  good.  But  excuse  more 
now,  for  sitting  up  at  my  writing-table  tires  me. 

May  22,  1901. 

I  am  very  sorry  to  tell  you  in  reply  to  your  kind 
letter  that  I  am  very  ailing.  I  seem  to  get  fairly  well  of  the 
influenza,  and  go  down  and  sit  for  a  few  hours  in  the  dining- 
room  in  the  easy  chair  by  the  fire.  Then,  as«sure  as  can  be, 
in  a  very  few  days  I  get  a  *'  recurrence  "  of  illness  and  have 
to  go  to  bed  for  days.  I  think  I  am  now  going  through 
about  the  fifteenth.  Dr.  Lipscomb  says  he  does  not  know 
the  reason,  but  it  is  very  like  the  recurrence  of  Indian  fever. 
I  know  that  there  may  be  scentless  or  other  sewer  gas,  and 

from  what  Mr.  R F told  me  some  time  ago  of  the 

recurrence  of  a  very  parallel  attack  to  the  Duchess  of  C 

from  gas  under  hef  invalid  sofa,  I  mean  to  have  the  matter 
properly  seen  to.  I  know  there  may  be  reason  close  to 
my  do  on 

P.S. — Since  the   above   was   written  Dr.    Lipscomb   has 


PLATE      XXX. 


Miss  Ormerod's  Father,  about  five  years  old. 

From  a  Miniature  of  1790. 

{p.  323.) 


Miss  Ormerod  in  childhood. 
From  a  Silhouette,  date  1835, 


To  Jace  p.  324. 


I90I.]  FAREWELL  AND    DEATH  325 

been  called  and  thinks  the  present  attack  was  caused  by  a 
chill ;  and  with  staying  in  bed  a  few  days  Miss  Ormerod 
hopes  to  be  better. — A.  Hartwell. 

May  28,  1901. 
I  am  afraid  I  have  seemed  very  negligent,  but  my  varying 
illness  made  it  very  difficult  to  tell  you,  and  now  I  do  not 
want  to  go  away  without  telling  you  my  deep  gratitude  for 
all  the  great,  helpful,  affectionate  kindness  you  have  showed 
me.  And  about  the  *^  Reminiscences,"  which  I  hoped  would 
be  our  pleasant  joint  work,  I  have  a  large  collection  of 
material  which  I  give  to  you  for  your  own  property  to  use 
as  you  please — with  the  requisite  paper  [dated  ist  March] 
with  it.  I  believe  myself  the  end  may  come  any  time  now, 
but  I  go  in  happy  hope,  and  that  it  may  please  God  to 
bless  you  is  the  prayer  of  your  affectionate  friend. 

J^tme  4,  1901. 

I  pencil  a  few  Hnes  to  say  what  a  delight  your  visit 
yesterday  was  to  me.  I  longed  very  much  to  see  you 
again,  and  also  I  was  wanting  to  give  you  the  various 
documents  about  the  ^'  Reminiscences."  To-day  Miss  Hart- 
well  has  been  rummaging  out  for  me  what  I  think  must  be 
nearly  all  the  material  I  have  more,  including  the  "Edin- 
burgh book  "  [relating  to  the  LL.D.],  which  please  accept 
from  me  as  a  keepsake.  It  was  left  you  in  my  will,  so  will 
not  there  be  a  hunt  ?  And  now  I  should  much  like  to 
write  more,  but  I  feel  too  weak,  and  with  every  good  wish. 

P.S. — Please  notice  I  give  you  all  the  contents  of  the  box 
sent  to-day — as  well  as  the  documents  we  looked  out 
yesterday. 

^une  8,  1901. 

I  was  delighted  with  your  letter — that  you  had  a  nice  talk 
with  Mr.  Newman — and  besides  such  an  interview  with  Mr. 
Murray.  This  is  a  great  pleasure.  I  am  miserably  weak, 
but  I  am  trying  to  do  as  the  doctors  tell  me,  and  lie  here 
waiting  for — what  I  am  sure  will  be  for  the  best. 

My  very  kindest  regards.     Yours  most  sincerely, 

Eleanor  A.  Ormerod. 

[The  Tunes  of  Saturday,  July  20,  1901,  published  an 
admirable  record  of  her  life  and  work  in  the  sympathetic 
obituary  notice,  from  which  we  have  made  the  following 
brief  extract :  "  We  regret  to  announce  the  death  of 
the  accomplished  entomologist.  Miss  Eleanor  A.  Ormerod, 
which  took  place  at  her  residence,  Torrington  House,  St. 
Albans,   after   a   severe   illness.     She   had    been   gradually 


326  OBITUARY   NOTICES  [Chap.  xxvi. 

sinkin^^  for  the  last  six  weeks  from  malignant  disease  of 
the  liver.  Her  loss  is  not  to  this  country  alone,  but  to  the 
whole  civilised  world,  though  the  farmers  of  the  United 
Kingdom  will  feel  in  a  special  degree  that  a  trusted  friend 
has  been  taken  from  them.  Many  people  will  feel  that  such 
a  magnificent  record  of  unselfish  work  as  she  has  left 
behind  ought  to  have  received  some  official  recognition  of 
a  national  character.  Nevertheless,  almost  the  last  honour 
bestowed  upon  her,  that  of  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Laws  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  was  peculiarly 
grateful  to  her,"  &c.,  &c. 

Having  regard  to  the  special  interest  which  Miss  Ormerod 
took  in  the  progress  of  Economic  Entomology  in  Canada 
and  the  United  States,  and  the  high  appreciation  in  which 
she  was  held  by  the  enlightened  exponents  of  the  subject  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  we  conclude  with  an  extract 
from  the  September  number  of  the  ^'Canadian  Entomologist" 
for  1 90 1  : — 

"Entomology  in  England  has  suffered  a  great  loss 
through  the  death  of  this  talented  and  estimable  lady, 
who  died  at  her  residence,  Torrington  House,  St.  Albans, 
on  Friday,  July  19th.  Practical  entomologists  throughout 
the  world  are  moved  with  profound  regret  that  a  career  so 
remarkable  and  so  useful  should  be  brought  to  a  close,  but 
one  could  hardly  hope  that  the  aged  lady  would  long  be 
able  to  sustain  the  burden  of  increasing  infirmities  and  the 
trials  of  a  painful  and  protracted  illness.  Miss  Ormerod 
was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  women  of  the  latter  half  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  and  did  more  than  any  one  else 
in  the  British  Isles  to  further  the  interests  of  farmers,  fruit- 
growers, and  gardeners,  by  making  known  to  them  methods 
for  controlling  and  subduing  their  multiform  insect  pests. 
Her  labours  were  unwearied  and  unselfish ;  she  received  no 
remuneration  for  her  services,  but  cheerfully  expended  her 
private  means  in  carrying  out  her  investigations  and  pub- 
lishing their  results.  We  know  not  now  by  whom  in 
England  this  work  can  be  continued  ;  it  is  not  likely 
that  any  one  can  follow  in  the  unique  path  laid  out  by 
Miss  Ormerod ;  we  may  therefore  cherish  the  hope  that 
the  Government  of  the  day  will  hold  out  a  helping  hand 
and  establish  an  entomological  bureau  for  the  lasting 
benefit  of  the  great  agricultural  interests  of  the  country."] 


APPENDICES 


Appendix  A  (p.  37). 

Salmon  Fishery. — Both  locally,  and  thence  to  the 
country  at  large,  the  bay  beneath  the  Beachley  and  the 
Sedbury  Cliffs  was  very  important,  as  being  one  centre 
of  the  Severn  Salmon  Fisheries.  The  following  notes  by 
Mr.  Frank  Buckland,i  Government  Inspector  of  Salmon 
Fishing  for  England  and  Wales,  are  interesting  :  "The 
visitor  will  observe  in  the  lower  estuary  stretching  for  a 
considerable  distance  into  the  water  from  the  muddy 
banks,  rude  piers  made  entirely  of  wicker  work,  which 
look  like  large  eel-baskets ;  these  are  called  '  ranks  *  of 
*  putchers.'  Each  putcher  is  about  5  ft.  6  in.  long,  and 
21  inches  across  the  mouth.  A  framework  is  made  by 
driving  stakes  into  the  mud,  and  the  putchers  are  then 
fastened  together  in  rows  one  above  the  other,  often  to  the 
height  of  10  feet  or  more  ;  these  great  walls  of  baskets  look 
not  unlike,  as  my  friend  the  late  John  Keast  Lord  remarked, 
'  a  gigantic  wine  rack  filled  with  bottles,  encased  in  wicker 
work.'  As  the  salmon  come  along  with  the  tide  in  the  thick 
muddy  Severn  water,  they  run  their  noses  into  the  open 
mouths  of  the  putchers,  and  speedily  get  jammed  up  at  the 
narrow  end ;  the  poor  things  cannot  turn,  and  the  more 
they  struggle  to  get  out,  the  firmer  they  become  wedged  in  ; 
as  the  tide  recedes  they  are  left  high  and  dry.  I  have  often 
observed  that  wasps  wait  about  till  the  tide  goes  down,  and 
then  take  first  cut  at  the  salmon.  A  great  many  first-class 
Severn  salmon  are  caught  in  these  putchers  and  sent  to  the 
London  market." 

'  See  Log  Book  of  a  Fisherman,  &c.,  by  Frank  Buckland,  M.A.,  pp 
366,  367. 

327 


328  APPENDICES 

With  regard  to  another  form  of  baskets  used  for  catching 
flat  fish,  &c.,  at  p.  368,  he  says  : — 

*'  Besides  the  putchers  another  kind  of  basket  is  used 
which  is  called  putts  ;  .  .  .  .  the  wicker-work  is  much  closer 
in  this  instance  than  in  the  other.  The  putt  in  its  most  special 
■form  consists  of  three  parts,  the  large  part  or  mouth,  called 
the  ^  putt '  ;  the  middle  called  the  '  butt '  ;  and  the  small  end 
or  bag,  called  the  ^  firwell.'  .  .  .  The  diameter  of  the  opening 
is  about  5  feet,  and  the  length  from  12  to  13  feet ;  they  are 
used  to  catch  flat  fish,  &c."  The  illustration  (fig.  A,  page  36), 
given  by  Mr.  Buckland  shows  the  putt,  with  the  small  end 
or  *'  firwell  "  removed. 

The  above  technical  description  of  the  arrangement, 
measurement,  &c.,  of  the  ^'  putts  "  and  "  putchers,"  corre- 
sponds in  most  points  with  the  details  of  the  long  rows 
(three  or  four  in  number)  running  out  into  the  river 
beneath  the  Sedbury  cliffs  (plate  x.). 


Appendix  B  (p.  67). 

The  following  notice  appeared  in  the  *'  Times "  of 
March  11,  1901  : — 

"  Miss  Ormerod's  Retirement  from  Entomological  Work." 

*' Widespread  regret  will  be  felt,  both  at  home  and 
abroad,  at  the  announcement  which  we  are  able  to  make, 
that  Miss  Eleanor  A.  Ormerod,  after  many  years  of  unre- 
mitting toil,  has  decided  to  discontinue  the  Annual  Reports 
on  injurious  insects  and  common  farm  pests,  which  she 
has  prepared  for  a  period  now  extending  to  close  upon  a 
quarter  of  a  century.  When  in  the  year  1877  she  issued 
the  first  of  these  annual  records,  and  thus  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  the  public  the  fruits  of  her  intimate  ac- 
quaintance with  many  departments  of  natural  history,  very 
little  systematic  work  had  been  done  in  the  direction  of 
saving  crops  and  live  stock  from  the  ravages  of  insect  and 
other  pests.  In  this  respect  the  position  of  the  farmer  and 
the  stock-keeper  to-day,  as  compared  with  what  it  was  in 
the   middle   of   the    seventies,    is    vastly  improved.     It   is 


OBITUARY    NOTICE  329 

true  that  the  farmer  may  still  lose  his  turnip  and  swede 
crops  through  the  ravages  of  the  active  little  beetle,  which 
is  perversely  termed  the  '  fly '  ;  that  fruit-growers  may 
bewail  the  loss  of  their  apples  and  plums  owing  to  the 
abundant  presence  of  the  winter  moth  ;  and  that  stock- 
keepers  may  view  with  dismay  the  damage  both  direct  and 
consequential  that  their  cattle  incur  through  the  activity  of 
the  w^arble-fly.  But  these  and  similar  losses  are  entirely 
preventable,  provided  that  there  be  no  careless  indifference, 
and  that  time  and  trouble  be  devoted  to  the  object  it  is 
sought  to  attain.  It  is  to  Miss  Ormerod's  persevering 
efforts  that  this  change  is  due  ;  it  is  to  her  persistent  enquiry 
year  after  year  into  the  causes  of  mischief  and  into  the 
means  of  removing  them  that  the  subject  of  agricultural 
entomology,  which  so  long  had  languished  in  this  country, 
gradually  forced  its  way  to  the  front,  until  it  has  become 
recognised  that  some  serviceable  knowledge  of  it  is  indis- 
pensable to  the  mental  equipment,  and  cannot  be  omitted 
from  the  technical  training  of  the  aspiring  agriculturist. 
Readily  and  gratuitously  she  has  answered  day  after  day  all 
inquirers,  whilst  for  twenty-four  consecutive  years  her  pen 
and  pencil  have  been  devoted  to  the  preparation  of  the 
annual  reports,  every  one  of  which  she  has  generously 
published  at  a  nominal  price,  which  year  after  year  involved 
a  substantial  loss.  ^  But  the  work  was  hard,'  she  now  tells 
us — and  the  simplicity  of  her  words  renders  them  eloquent — 
*  for  many  years  for  about  five  or  six  months  all  the  time  I 
could  give  to  the  subject  was  devoted  to  arranging  the 
contributions  of  the  season  for  the  Annual  Report  of  the 
year.'  In  spite  of  indifferent  health,  at  times  accompanied 
by  much  physical  suffering.  Miss  Ormerod  has  carried  on 
her  self-imposed  task,  and  the  result  is  that  she  has  revo- 
lutionised the  subject  of  agricultural  entomology,  as  it  was 
understood  in  this  country  twenty-five  years  ago.  Not  only 
at  home,  not  only  throughout  the  British  Empire,  but  in 
all  progressive  countries  Miss  Ormerods  name  takes  first 
rank  amongst  the  Economic  Entomologists  of  the  day,  and 
correspondence  reaches  her  from  beneath  almost  every 
flag  that  flies.  And,  now  that  the  time  has  come  when  this 
talented  lady  feels  it  expedient  to  no  longer  work  at  the 
high  pressure  which  has  so  long  been  maintained,  all  who 
have  benefited  by  her  disinterested  labour — and  they  are 
very  many — will  join  in  the  hope  that  she  may  long  live 
to  enjoy  the  comparative  leisure  to  which  she  is  looking 
forward." 


330  APPENDICES 


APPENDIX  C  (p.  143). 

Contents  of  Insect  Cases  Shown  at  the  Bath  and  West  of  England 
Show  at  St.  Albans  (May,  1896),  now  the  Property  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Edinburgh,  kept  along  with  Miss  Georgiana  Ornierod's 
Diagrams  in  the  Museum  of  Science  and  Art,  Edinburgh. 

'  Case  I. — Weevil  Attacks  to  Peas,  Beans,  axd  Clover  Seed,  and 
Leafage,  i.  Infestations  of  Pea-seed.  2.  Infestations  of  Bean- 
seed.  3.  Clover-seed  '*  Pear-shaped "  Weevils.  4.  Leaf-eating 
Weevils,  and  gnawed  Leaves. 

Case  II. — Attacks  to  Corn  Stems,  i.  "Gout  Fly"  attack  to  young 
Barley,  also  to  ear  and  stalk.  2.  Hessian  Fly  attack,  showing 
Wheat-stems  elbowed  at  point  of  feeding  of  Maggot. 

Case  III. — Infestations  of  Stored  Corn  and  Meal.  i.  Granary 
Weevils  in  Wheat.  2.  Granary  Moth  in  Wheat.  3.  Meal  and 
Flour  Beetle  in  Meal.     4.  Mite  in  Granary  Rubbish. 

Case  IV. — Stored  Corn.     Common  Granary  Weevil  in  Barley. 

Case  V. — Infestation  of  Wheat  Mills  and  Stores.    Mediterranean 

Mill  Moth,  and  Flour  felted  together  by  its  Caterpillars.     (A  very 

bad  Mill  Pest). 

Case  VI. — Waste  Material  Cleaned  out  of  Imported  Corn. 
I  and  2.  *'  Rubble."  3.  "  Hencorn."  4.  Broken  Bits,  used  for 
bedding  Pigs.  5  and  6.  Uses  not  given  ;  supposed  to  be  used  for 
Adulteration. 

Case  VII. — Infestations  in  Imported  or  Stored  Fodder;  also 
Sparrow's  Food.  i.  Locusts  in  Lucerne  from  Buenos  Aires. 
2.  Hay-stack  Moth  from  Clover  or  Sainfoin  Stacks.  Food  from 
Sparrow's  Crop  containing  Corn. 

Case  VIII. — Field  Crop  and  Grass-Root  Infestations,  i.  "CHck 
Beetles "  and  their  Grubs,  known  as  "  Wireworms."  2.  Turnip 
"Flea"  Beetles  and  Mustard  Beetles.     3.  Chafers  and  their  Grubs. 

Case  IX. — Field  Crops,  Root,  and  Leaf  Infestations,  i.  Cabbage 
and  Turnip  Moths,  and  their  "  Surface  "  Root-feeding  Caterpillars, 
also  Cabbage,  and  Pea-leaf  Caterpillars.  2.  "Mangold-leaf  Fly" 
Maggot  attack.      3.  Death's-head   Moth    Potato-leaf    Infestation. 

Case  X. — Apple  Infestations.  i.  American  Blight.  2.  Codlin 
Moth.  3.  Winter  Moths,  and  their  "Looper"  Caterpillars,  also 
Cabbage  and  Pea-leaf  Caterpillars.  4.  Goat  Moth,  of  which  the 
Caterpillars  feed  in  Wood.  5.  Lappet  Moth,  and  its  leaf-eating 
Caterpillars. 

Case  XL— Pine  Infestations,  i.  Pine-sheets  distorted  by  Tortrix 
Moth  Caterpillar  attack.  2.  "  Timberman  "  Beetle,  with  longest 
horns  of  any  European  kind.  3.  Pine-beetle  infestation  in  bark 
and  shoots. 

Case  XII. — Elm  and  Ash-Bark  Infestations,  i.  Attacks  of  "Com- 
mon "  Elm-bark  Beetle,  and  of  "  Lesser "  Elm-bark  Beetle. 
2.  Attacks  of  "Ash-bark"  Beetle. 


INSECT   CASES  AND    BEETLE    INFESTATION     331 

Case  XIII. — Insect  Injuries  to  Wood  and  Leather,  i.  Sirex 
Tunnellings  in  live  Silver  Fir.  2.  "Death-watch"  Beetle's  Borings 
in  Oak  and  Beech  Timber.  3.  Injuries  of  Maggots  of  another 
kind  of  Death-watch  Beetle  to  manufactured  leather. 

Case  XIV. — Infestations  Partly  Bred  in  Ponds  and  Ditches. 
I.  Water  Beetles  injurious,  in  Beetle  or  Grub  state,  but  chiefly  in 
both,  to  young  Fish  in  Ponds.  2.  Liver-fluke  of  Sheep,  and 
"  Pond  Snails,"  in  which  it  lives  in  its  early  condition. 

Case  XV. — Fly  Attacks,  Injurious  to  Cattle,  Horses  and  Sheep. 
I.  Forest  Fly  ;  also  Sheep  Spider  Fly  (popularly  known  as  "Sheep 
Tick.")  2.  Bot  FHes,  Common  Horse  Bot  Fly,  and  Sheep-nostril 
Bot  Fly.     3.  Gad  or  Breeze  Flies. 

Case  XVI. — Ox  and  Deer  Warble.  r.  Ox  Warble  Fly  and  Deer 
Warble  Fly,  in  different  stages,  with  Maggots  in  spirit.  2.  Piece 
of  young  Red-deer's  Skin,  showing  swellings  caused  by  Warble 
Maggots  in  the  under-side. 

Case  XVII. — Injuries  to  Cattle  Hide,  from  Ox  Warble,  r. 
Pieces  of  Hide,  showing  swellings  with  Maggots  within,  from  the 
under-side  ;  also  perforations  in  the  outside,  leading  down  to 
the  Maggot-cell ;  also  sections  of  Hide,  showing  Channel  down 
through  the  Hide,  and  Maggot-cell  cut  through.  2.  Pieces  of 
Tanned  Warbled  Leather. 


Appendix  D  (p.  182). 

Injury  by  Xyleborus  dispar  in  England. 

Professor  Riley,  in  '<  Insect  Life"  (the  U.S.A.  Official  Ento- 
mological Journal),  says  : — ''  Miss  E.  A.  Ormerod  wrote  us  on 
September  23,  1889,  as  follows  :  * .  .  .  The  beetle  which  is 
considered  one  of  the  rarest  of  the  British  Coleoptera,  Xyleborus 
dispar,  Fab.  (formerly  known  as  "  Bostrichus"  or  "  Apate,"  Fig. 
46)  has  appeared  in  such  great  numbers  in  plum-wood  in  the 
fruit  grounds  at  Toddington,  near  Cheltenham,  as  to  be  doing 
very  serious  injury.  I  found,  on  anatomising  the  injured  small 
branches,  that  one  of  the  galleries  which  the  horde  of  beetles 
(packed  as  closely  as  they  can  be)  forms  or  enlarges,  passes  about 
two-thirds  round  in  the  wood,  more  or  less  deeply  beneath  the 
bark,  whilst  another  of  the  tunnels,  likewise  occupied  with  its 
closely  packed  procession  of  beetles,  was  in  possession  of  about 
two  inches  of  pith,  so  that  the  rapid  destruction  of  the  tree  w^as 
fully  accounted  for.  The  attack  appears,  as  far  as  I  can  see,  to 
disappear  usually  very  rapidly,  but  I  am  advising  owners  to 
make  sure.  This  disappearance,  I  conjecture,  may  arise  from 
the  excessive  rarity  of  the  small  male  of  this  species.  Amongst 
about  sixty  $  (female  specimens)  which  I  extracted  from  the 
tunnels  I  only  found  one  ^  (male).'  " 


332  APPENDICES 


Appendix  E  (p.  223). 

Professor  Charles  Valentine  Riley  was  killed  by  a  fall  from 
his  bicycle  in  the  streets  of  Washington.  He  was  riding,  as 
usual,  to  his  office  in  the  morning,  accompanied  by  his  young 
son.  It  was  down-hill,  and  he  was  evidently  going  rather  fast, 
when  his  wheel  struck  a  stone  carelessly  left  in  the  roadway 
after  repairs.  He  was  thrown  violently,  and  died  from  the 
effects  of  the  fall  a  few  hours  afterwards.^ 

*  Biologist,  artist,  editor,  and  pubhc  official,  the  story  of  his 
struggles  and  successes,  tinged  as  it  is  with  romance,  is  one  full 
of  interest.  Beginning  life  in  America  as  a  poor  lad  on  an 
Illinois  farm,  he  rose  by  his  own  exertions  to  distinction.  His 
nature  was  a  many-sided  one,  and  his  success  in  life  was  due  to 
sheer  will-power,  unusual  executive  force,  critical  judgment, 
untiring  industry,  skill  with  pencil  and  pen,  and  a  laudable 
ambition,  united  with  an  intense  love  of  nature  and  of  science 
for  its  own  sake.  This  rare  combination  of  varied  qualities,  of 
which  he  made  the  most,  rendered  him  during  the  thirty  years 
of  his  active  life  widely  known  as  a  public  official,  as  a  scientific 
investigator,  while  of  economic  entomologists  he  was  facile 
princeps. 

'  He  was  born  at  Chelsea,  London,  September  18,  1843.  His 
boyhood  was  spent  at  Walton-on-Thames,  where  he  made  the 
acquaintance  of  the  late  W.  C.  Hewitson,  author  of  many  works 
on  butterffies,  which  undoubtedly  developed  his  love  for  insects. 
At  the  age  of  eleven  he  went  to  school  for  three  years  at  Dieppe, 
afterwards  studying  at  Bonn-on-the- Rhine.  At  both  schools  he 
carried  off  the  hrst  prizes  for  drawing,  making  finished  sketches 
of  butterflies,  thus  showing  his  early  bent  for  natural  history. 
It  is  said  that  a  restless  disposition  led  him  to  abandon  the  old 
country,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  he  had  emigrated  to  Illinois, 
and  settled  on  a  farm  about  fifty  miles  from  Chicago.  When 
about  twenty-one  he  removed  to  Chicago,  where  he  became  a 
reporter  and  editor  of  the  entomological  department  of  the 
*'  Prairie  Farmer." 

^  Near  the  close  of  the  war,  in  1864,  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in 
the  134th  Illinois  regiment,  serving  for  six  months,  when  he 
returned  to  his  editorial  office. 

'  He  also  enjoyed  for  several  years  the  close  friendship  of 
B.  D.  Walsh,  one  of  our  most  thorough  and  philosophic  ento- 
mologists, with  whom  he  edited  the  "American  Entomologist." 
His  industry  and  versatility,  as  well  as  his  zeal  as  an  entomolo- 

^  The  substance  of  the  foregoing  statement  was  supplied  by  Dr.  Bethune. 
The  following  (condensed)  obituary  notice  by  Professor  A.  S.  Packard,  of 
Brown  University,  and  referred  to  by  Miss  Ormerod,  appeared  in  "  Science," 
and  subsequently  in  the  "  Canadian  Entomologist." 


PROFESSOR    RILEY'S   OBITUARY  333 

gist,  made  him  widely  known  and  popular,  and  gave  him  such 
prestige  that  it  resulted  in  his  appointment  in  1868  as  State 
Entomologist  of  Missouri.  From  that  time  until  1877,  when  he 
left  St.  Louis  to  live  in  Washington,  he  issued  a  series  of  nine 
annual  reports  on  injurious  insects,  which  showed  remarkable 
powers  of  observation  both  of  structure  and  habits,  great  skill 
in  drawing,  and  especially  ingenious  and  thoroughly  practical 
devices  and  means  of  destroying  the  pests.  It  goes  without 
saying  that  this  prestige  existed  to  the  end  of  his  life,  his 
practical  applications  of  remedies  and  inventions  of  apparatus 
giving  him  a  world-wide  reputation.  In  token  of  his  suggestion 
of  reviving  the  vines  injured  by  the  Phylloxera  by  the  importa- 
tion of  the  American  stock,  he  received  a  gold  medal  from  the 
French  Government,  and  he  afterwards  received  the  Cross  of 
the  Legion  d'Honneur  in  connection  with  the  exhibit  of  the 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  at  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1880. 
'  The  widespread  ravages  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  locust  from 
1873  ^o  ^^77  had  occasioned  such  immense  loss  in  several  States 
and  Territories  that  national  aid  was  invoked  to  avert  the  evil. 
The  late  Dr.  F.  V.  Hayden,  then  in  charge  of  the  U.  S.  Geogra- 
phical and  Geological  Survey  of  the  Territories,  sent  Dr.  P.  R. 
Uhler  to  Colorado  in  the  summer  of  1875.  Mr.  Walsh  had 
made  important  suggestions  as  to  the  birthplace  and  migrations 
of  the  insect.  Meanwhile  Riley  had  since  1874  made  very 
detailed  studies  on  the  migration  and  breeding  habits  and 
means  of  destruction  of  this  locust.  Dr.  Cyrus  Thomas  had 
also  been  attached  to  Hayden's  Survey,  and  published  a  mono- 
graph on  the  locust  family,  Acrididcv.  As  the  result  of  this 
combined  work  Congress  created  the  United  States  Entomo- 
logical Commission,  attaching  to  it  Dr.  Hayden's  Survey,  and 
the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  appointed  Charles  V.  Riley,  A.  S. 
Packard,  and  Cyrus  Thomas  members  of  the  Commission.  Dr. 
Riley  was  appointed  chief,  and  it  was  mainly  owing  to  his 
executive  ability,  business  sagacity,  experience  in  official  life, 
together  with  his  scientific  knowledge  and  practical  inventive 
turn  of  mind  in  devising  remedies,  or  selecting  those  invented 
by  others,  that  the  work  of  the  Commission  was  so  popular  and 
successful  during  the  five  years  of  its  existence.  In  1878,  while 
the  Report  of  the  Commission  was  being  printed,  Riley  accepted 
the  position  of  Entomologist  to  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, but  owing  to  the  lack  of  harmony  in  the  Department, 
he  resigned.  Professor  J.  H.  Comstock  being  appointed.  Con- 
gress meanwhile  transferred  the  cotton- worm  investigation 
[on  which  Riley  had  been  engaged]  to  the  Entomological 
Commission.  Dr.  Riley  was  reappointed  to  the  position  of 
U.  S.  Entomologist  in  June,  1881.  Mr.  L.  O.  Howard  said  of 
the  administration  of  this  office  :  '*  The  present  efficient  organi- 
sation of   the    Division  of    Entomology  was   his   own  original 


334  APPENDICES 

conception,  and  he  is  responsible  for  its  plan  down  to  the 
smallest  detail.  It  is  unquestionably  the  foremost  organisation 
of  its  kind  at  present  in  existence."  Again  he  writes  :  "  Professor 
Riley's  work  in  the  organisation  of  the  Division  of  Entomology 
has  unquestionably  advanced  the  entire  Department  of  which  it 
is  a  part,  for  it  is  generally  conceded  that  this  Division  has  led 
in  most  matters  where  efficiency,  discipline,  and  system  were 
needed." 

'  His  Division  published  the  hrst  bulletin,  and  in  "  Insect  Life  " 
began  the  system  of  periodical  bulletins,  which  has  since  been 
adopted  for  the  other  Divisions  of  the  Agricultural  Department. 
In  an  address,  says  Howard,  before  the  National  Agricultural 
Congress,  delivered  in  1879,  in  which  he  outlined  the  ideal 
Department  of  Agriculture,  Professor  Riley  foreshadowed  many 
important  reforms  which  have  since  become  accomplished  facts, 
and  suggested  the  important  legislation,  since  brought  about,  of 
the  establishment  of  State  Experiment  Stations  under  the  general 
government. 

'  His  practical,  inventive  genius  was  exhibited  in  his  various 
means  of  exterminating  locusts,  in  the  use  of  kerosene  oil  emul- 
sified with  milk  or  soap,  and  in  his  invention  and  perfection  of 
the  '^  cyclone  "  or  ''  eddy-chamber  "  or  Riley  systems  of  nozzles, 
which,  in  one  form  or  another,  are  now  in  general  use  in  the 
spraying  of  insecticide  or  fungicide  liquids. 

'  Although  the  idea  of  introducing  foreign  insect  parasites  or 
carnivorous  enemies  of  our  imported  pests  had  been  suggested 
by  others,  Riley,  with  the  resources  of  his  division  at  hand, 
accomplished  more  than  any  one  else  in  making  it  a  success. 
He  it  was  who  succeeded  in  introducing  the  Austrahan  ladybird 
to  fight  the  fluted  scale. 

'  Riley's  scientific  writings  will  always  stand,  and  show  as 
honest  work.  He  was  not  *'a  species  man"  or  systematist  as 
such  ;  on  the  contrary,  his  most  important  work  was  on  the 
transformations  and  habits  of  insects,  such  as  those  of  the 
lepidoptera,  locusts  and  their  parasites,  his  Missouri  reports 
being  packed  with  facts  new  to  science.  His  studies  on  the 
systematic  relations  of  Platypsyllus  as  determined  by  the  larva 
evince  his  patience,  accuracy,  and  keenness  in  observation  and 
his  philosophic  breadth. 

^  His  best  anatomical  and  morphological  work  is  displayed  in 
his  study  on  the  mode  of  pupation  of  butterflies,  the  research 
being  a  difficult  one,  and  especially  related  to  the  origin  of  the 
cremaster,  and  of  the  vestigial  structures,  sexual  and  others,  of 
the  end  of  the  pupa.  Whatever  he  did  in  entomology  was 
original.  He  was  also  much  interested  in  Aeronautics,  and  took 
much  delight  in  attending  seances  of  spiritualists  and  exposing 
their  frauds,  in  one  case,  at  least,  where  another  biologist  of  world- 
wide fame,  then  visiting  in  Washington,  was  completely  deluded. 


PROFESSOR    RILEY'S   OBITUARY  335 

'  Riley  was  from  the  first  a  pronounced  evolutionist.  His 
philosophic  breadth  and  his  thoughtful  nature  and  grasp  of  the 
higher  truths  of  biology  are  well  brought  out  in  his  address  on 
''  The  Causes  of  Variation  in  Organic  Forms,"  as  Vice-President, 
before  the  biological  section  of  the  American  Association  for 
the  Advancement  of  Science  in  1888.  He  was  a  moderate 
Darwinian,  and  leaned,  like  other  American  naturalists,  rather 
to  Neo-Lamarckism.  He  says  :  "  I  have  always  had  a  feeling, 
and  it  grows  on  me  with  increasing  experience,  that  the  weak 
features  of  Darwinism  and,  hence,  of  natural  selection,  are  his 
insistence  (i)  on  the  necessity  of  slight  modification  ;  (2)  on  the 
length  of  time  required  for  the  accumulation  of  modifications, 
and  (3)  on  the  absolute  utility  of  the  modified  structure."  Riley, 
from  his  extended  experience  as  a  biologist,  was  led  to  ascribe 
much  influence  to  the  agency  of  external  conditions,  remarking, 
in  his  address  :  *'  Indeed,  no  one  can  well  study  organic  life, 
especially  in  its  lower  manifestations,  without  being  impressed 
with  the  great  power  of  the  environment."  He  thus  contrasts 
Darwinism  and  Lamarckism :  "  Darwinism  assumes  essential 
ignorance  of  the  causes  of  variation  and  is  based  on  the  inherent 
tendency  thereto  in  the  offspring.  Lamarckism,  on  the  contrary, 
recognizes  in  use  and  disuse,  desire  and  the  physical  environ- 
ment, immediate  causes  of  variation  affecting  the  individual  and 
transmitted  to  the  offspring,  in  which  it  may  be  intensified  again 
both  by  inheritance  and  further  individual  modification."  ' 

' "  Evolution  shows  that  man  is  governed  by  the  same  laws  as 
other  animals."  '^  Evolution  reveals  a  past  which  disarms  doubt 
and  leaves  the  future  open  with  promise — unceasing  purpose — 
progress  from  low^er  to  higher.  It  promises  higher  and  higher 
intellectual  and  ethical  attainment,  both  for  the  individual  and 
the  race.  It  shows  the  power  of  God  in  what  is  universal,  not 
in  the  specific  ;  in  the  laws  of  nature,  not  in  departure  from 
them." ' 


INDEX 


A  hraxas  grossulariata,  Magpie 
moth,  114  (Fig.) 

Accentor  modularis,  Dunnock  or 
Hedge-sparrow,  162 

Acrididce,  333 

"Agriculture  and  Rural  Economy 
of  Australia  and  New  Zealand," 
Professor  Wallace's,  280 

Agriculture,  Board  of,  Miss 
Ormerod's  aid  to  the  Adviser 
given  and  withdrawn,  202 

Agricultural  College  (Royal),Ciren- 
cester,  Miss  Ormerod's  lectures 
at,  83 ;  Professor  Harker  at ; 
Principal  of,  201 

Agricultural  Education  Committee, 
271,  272,  273 

Agricultural  Education  in  the  Ele- 
mentary School,  271 

Agricultural  Entomology,  progress 
of,  200 ;  work  on,  276 ;  Miss 
Ormerod,  Co- Examiner  in,  282 

Agricultural  lectureship  proposed 
in  Oxford  University,  225 

Agricultural  Society  (Royal),  Miss 
Ormerod's  diagrams  for,  88  ; 
work  for  discontinued,  212 

"Agricultural  Zoology,"  by  Dr. 
Ritzema  Bos,  translated  by  Pro- 
fessor Ainsworth  Davis,  222 

Agrotis  exclamationis,  Heart-and- 
dart  moth,  Linn.,  loi  (Fig.) 

Agrotis  segetum,  Ochsenheimer, 
Turnip  moth,  loi  (Fig.) 

"Alder  Killer,"  German  name  of 
Mottled  Willow  Weevil,  267 

Aldersey  schoolboys,  113,  119,  127 


!  Alfalfa  (lucerne)  hay  infested  with 
locusts,  228,  229 

Alopecurus  pratensis,  244 

Altum,  Dr.  Bernard,  Forsi  Zoologie, 
61 

American  Ambassador,  congratu- 
lations of  the,  193 

American  blight,  see  Schizoneura 
lanigera,  142,  143,  144 

American  clover-seed  midge,  198 

American  migratory  locusts,  South, 
229 

Anbury,  club-root,  or  finger  and 
toe,  see  Plasmodiophora,  196,  213 

Angoumois  moth,  188 

Anguillulidcv  (eel- worms),  198,  282 

Angiiillula  radicicola,  213 

Annual  Reports,  see  Reports 

Anobiwm  paniceum,  253 

A  nihomyia  ceparum,  60 

Antler  moth,  see  Charcvas  graminis 

Ants,  black,  138 

"  Ap  Adam"  oak,  93,  PI.  xxi. 

Aphides,  79;  attack   of,  222,   250, 

257 
Aphis,  wooWy, Schizoneura  lanigera 

144  (Fig.) 
Apple-bark  beetle,  see  Shot-borer, 

199 
Arbuthnot,  Mrs.,  292,  301 
Architects,  practice  of,  7 
:  Arderne  of  Alvanley,  family  of,  13 
I  Argyresthia  conjtigcUa,  247 
Arkwright   (J.    H.)   of    Hampden 

Court,  Herefordshire,  76 
Armstrong,  Dr.,  28,  29 
Army   worm   (Leucania    unipunc- 

iata),  paper   on,  by  Dr.    L.  O. 

Howard,  184 


23 


337 


338 


INDEX 


Arnold,  Dr.,  of  Rugby,  3 

Arsenite  of  Copper,  201 

Artists,   the   Misses  Ormerod  as, 

18,74 
Ash-bark  beetle,  see  Hylesinus 
Ashworth,  Miss,  letter  from,  320 
Aspidiotiis   perniciosus,    San    Jose 

scale,  242 
Assistant,  reasons  for  refusing  an, 

79 

Astynomtis  ccdilis,  224 

Atomaria  linearis,  Mangold  beetle, 

230  (Fig-) 

Aust  "  Bone  bed,"  40 

Aust  cliffs,  39,  40 

Austen's  opinion  on  "  Deer  forest 
fly,"  Mr.,  261 

Australian  thrips,  183  ;  larvae,  277 

Autumnal  breeze  fly,  see  Tabanus 
aiitumnalis 

Avian  Rat,  nickname  for  the  spar- 
row, 160,  168 

Axe,  Professor,  85 

B 

Bacon-fly,  see  Piophila  casei 

Bacon,  Lord,  burial-place,  298 

Badam's  Court,  93 

Bailey,  Colonel,  303 

Bailey,  Mr.,  Editor  of  the  Dumfries 
Herald  and  Courier,  106 

Bailey,  Mr.  William,  letters  to, 
109-127 ;  letter  from,  to  the 
Duke  of  Westminster,  iii 

Barley,  Hessian  fly  on,  132  (Fig.) 

Barnes  Cottage,  7 

Barnesville,  7 

"  Bat  beetle,"  see  Harpalus  rufi- 
corn  is 

Bath  and  West  of  England  Society 
Show,  Misses  Ormerod's  insect 
cases  and  diagrams  at,  283,  284 

Bathurst's,  Mr.,  paper  on  "Or- 
chards," 273-274 

Bean-beetle,  see  Bruchus 

Beans  and  peas  attacked  by  Eel- 
worms,  304 

Bean  -  seed  weevil — sad-coloured 
{Bruchus  tristis,) ;  red-footed  {B. 
rufipes)  ;  red-horned  {B.  bra- 
chialis),  271,  see  Bruchus 

Beans  infested  with  beetles,  269, 
270 

Beaufort,  Duke  of,  7 


Becker,  Miss  Lydia,  as  an  up- 
holder of  "Women's  Rights,"  86 

Beckett,  Edmund,  Lord  Grim- 
thorpe,  91,  see  Grimthorpe 

Bee,  Mason,  174 

Beet  carrion  beetle,  see  Silpha 
opaca,  142,  220 

Beetles  in  the  Argentine  terri- 
tories, 222 

Beetles  (water),  killing  of,  54 

Bethnal  Green  Museum,  connec- 
tion with,  87 

Bethune,  Rev.  Dr.,  letters  to,  73, 
90,  213,  227-231 

Bigge,  General  and  Mrs.,  298 

Biographical  sketch  of  Miss  Or- 
merod, by  the  Editor,  73 

Bipalium  kewense,  a  land  plan- 
arian,  192  (Fig.) 

Birth,  childhood,  and  education, 
Miss  Ormerod's,  i 

Black-currant  gall  mite,  153,  154, 
155,  156,  177,  see  Phytoptus 

Bladder  or  pocket  plums,  176  (Fig.) 

Bodleian  Library,  58 

Bolivar's,  Sefior  Don  Igo,  assistance 
on  locust  specimens,  218 

"  Bone  Bed,"  the  Aust,  40 

Books,  lending  of,  29 

Boot-beetle,  see  Anobium paniceum 

Boot-upper  injured  by  beetle,  254 

(Fig.) 
Bos,  Dr.  Ritzema,  79, 131, 132, 156, 

189,  204,  296 ;  letters  to,  232-237 
Botanical  Magazine,  drawings  for, 

74 
Botfly,  the,  see  Hypoderma. 
"  Bottle-nosed  whale,"  or  dolphin, 

capture  of,  38,  39 
Brad  wall  Hall,  Cheshire,  11 
Brauer's,  Dr.,  frontispiece   to  his 

"  (Estridcc,"  149,  150 
Breathing  tubes  of  maggot,  of  ox 

warble  fly,  &c.,  112  (Fig.) 
Breeze  flies,  see  Tabanida: 
Brighton,  Miss  Ormerod  refers  to 

taking  a  villa  at,  264,  266 
Bruchus,  the  pea  and  bean  Weevil, 

268,  rufimanus,  &c.,  269  (Fig.) 

270,  271,  see  Bean-seed  weevil 
Bruner,    Lawrence,    Locust     In- 
vestigation Commission  Report, 

229 
Bryobia  prctiiosa,  gooseberry  and 

ivy  red  spider,  220,  221  (Fig.) 


INDEX 


339 


Buckland,  Frank,  on  "  Putts,"  37, 

327,  328 
Buckler,  Mr.  William,  107 
Buckton,  G.  B.,  on  Aphides,  79,  80 
Bunbury    Parish,   work  done    by 

schoolboys  of,  iii 
Burd,  Rev.  Percy,  29 
Burdett-Coutts,  Baroness,    letters 

from,  214 
Bury,  Lancashire,  9 
Buttington,  battle  of,  23 


Cabbage  green-fly,  loi 

Caddis  fly,  see  Mormonia  nigro- 
maculata,  152 

Caddis  worms  attacking  water- 
cresses,  151,  152,  282 

Cadelle,  the,  see  Trogosita 

Caerwent,  7,  174 

Calandra  {Sitophilus)  granaria, 
granary  weevil,  191,  262  (Fig.), 
267  ;  C.  oryzcE,  262 

Calwer's  "  Kiiferbuch,"  270 

"  Canadian  Entomologist,"  quoted, 
202,  211,  223 

Canadian  friends,  Miss  Ormerod's, 
73 

Cauvin's  Hospital,  Editor's  Lec- 
ture at,  289 

Cecidomyia  destrucior,  Hessian  fly, 
129,  131  (Fig.),  132,  143,  147, 
182  ;  C.  tritici,  131  ;  legumini- 
cola,  198 

Cecidomyia  {Diplosis)  equesiris,  137 

Centipede  and  millipede,  143  (Fig.) 

Cephenomyia  rufibarbis,  Red- 
bearded  botfly,  149,  150,  151 

Cephus  pygmcEus,  Corn  sawfly, 
147  (Fig.) 

Cerostoma  xylostella,  Curtis,  see 
Pliiiella  cruciferarum 

CeuihorhyncJius  contractus,  Char- 
lock weevil,  130  (Fig.) 

Chapel  of  St.  Tecla,  dimensions,  34, 
ruins,  PI.  x. 

Cliaraias  graminis,  Antler  moth, 
104,  105  (Fig.),  185,  284 

Charlock  weevil,see  Ceuthorhynchiis 
contractus 

Charlotte,  Princess,  "  the  people's 
darling,"  death  of,  6 

Chartist  Rising,  47-52 ;  map  of 
district,  PI.  xv. 


Cheese-fly,  see  Piophila  casei,  125 

(Fig.) 
Cheimatobia  brumata,  121,  146,  183 
Chepstow,  15,  30,  33, 43,  53,  PI.  xvii. 
Chepstow  Bridge,  PI.  xiii. 
Chepstow  Castle,  Pis.  ix.,  xvi. 
Chepstow  Parish  Church,  Plate  vi. 
Cheshire,  see  Chester 
Chest,  oak,  from    Hulgrave  Hall, 

58,  PI.  xviii. 
Chester,  Dr.  Ormerod's  "  History 

of    the    County    Palatine    and 

City,"  8,  13,  58 
Chinese  Minister  Plenipotentiary, 

307 
Chinese  naturalist  and   Miss  Or- 

merod,  75 
Chittenden's,  Mr.,  paper  on  House- 
hold Insects,  266 
Chlorops   tceniopus,   Meigen,   Gout 

fly,  132,  133  (Fig.),  147 
Choate,  Mr.,  meeting  with,  193  ; 

characteristics,  297 
Chrysops  ccscutiens,  small  blinding 

breeze  fly,  136  (Fig.) 
Church  customs,  old,  23 
Cidaria     dotata,     Linn.,    spinach 

moth,  231  (Fig.) 
Clayden,  ancestral  oak  at,  121 
Cleg,   or   small    rain    breeze    fly, 

Hcematopota  phwialis,  136  (Fig.) 
Clergy,  old  local,  27 
Cliviger  township,  8 
Clothing  Club,  30 
Clover-stem  sickness,  226,  282 
Club-root,  Anbury,  or  Finger  and 

toe,  196,  213 
Coccinella     bipunctata,     2-spotted 

lady-bird ;     C.     septempunctata, 

7-spotted  lady-bird,  234  (Fig.)  ; 

C.  ocellata,  eyed  lady-bird,  237 

(Fig.) 
Cockchafer     beetle     and     grubs, 

Melolontha     vulgaris,    209,    233 

(Fig.),  277,  block,  280 
CodHn  moth,  prevention,  277 
Coleman  &  Sons,  Messrs.  W.  J., 

letters  to,  177 
Collection    of    specimens    of    in- 
jurious insects,  87 
"Common   Fly  Attacks  to  Farm 

Stock,"  by  Miss  Ormerod,  304 
Conger  eels,  35 
Connold,  Mr.   Ed.  T.,  letters   to, 

i75»  241 


340 


INDEX 


Contribution,  Miss  Ormerod's  first, 

to  scientific  literature,  59 
Contributions,  Miss  Ormerod's  re- 
cognition of,  62,  66 
Copleston,  Bishop,  15 
Copper,  arsenite  and  arseniate  of, 

201 
Cormorants,  35 
Corn-fly,  Ribbon-footed,  sec  Chlo- 

rops  tcEuiopus 
Corn  sawfly,  147 
Correggios,     "  Marriage     of     St. 

Catherine,"  16 
Correspondence,     steadiness     of, 

Miss  Ormerod's,  78, 79,  letters,  97 
Cosby,  Sir  Henry,  7 
Cossus  ligniperda,  Goat  moth,  268 

(Fig.) 
County  dinner  party,f  ormalityof ,  1 5 
Courage,  Miss  Ormerod's,  92-94 
Coussmaker,   Colonel,    letters    to, 

99-104 
Cranefly  (Daddy  longlegs),  Tipula, 

64,  284 
Crawford,  Mr.  Frazer,  of  Adelaide, 

210 
Croft,  Sir  Richard,  6 
Cross-fertilisation  (multiple),  298 
CryptorJiynclius,  lapathi,  L.,  mottled 

willow  weevil,  267 
Crystal  oil,  181 
Cucujus  iestaceus,  263 
Currant  and  gooseberry  scale,  Lc- 

canium  ribis,  214  (Fig.) 
Currant,  black  and  red,  156,  157 
Curtis,  John,  "  Farm  Insects,"  63, 

276  ;  work,  &c.,  184 
Cutworms,  or   caterpillars  of   the 

dart  or  turnip  moth,   100,    loi 

(Fig.) 
Cynips  galls,  177 


Daddy  longlegs,  see  Tipula 

Dalquhairn,  Holm  of,  105 

Damsons,  curiously  formed,  175 

Danysz's,  J.,  paper  on  Ephestia 
(Flour  moth),  216 

Dart  or  turnip  moth,  see  Agrotis 
segetum 

Darwinianism,  276 

Darwinism,  335 

Davis,  Professor  Ainsworth,  trans- 
lation of  Ritzema  Bos's  Agricul- 
tural Zoology,  222 


Dean,  Forest  of,  lawlessness  in,  38 
Death,  Miss  Ormerod's,  letters  ni 
prospect  of,  325 

see  Lipopfcra  ccrvi 
Hy,  see   Hypoderma 


Dcerforest  fly. 
Deer   warble 

diana 
Degrees    and 

merods,  95, 


Or- 


mcdals.    Miss 

see  LL.D. 
Dell  &  Son's  niformation,  275 
Diagrams,  Miss  G.  Ormerod's,  88  ; 
coloured,  published  by  R.A.S.E,, 

99 
Diamond-back  moth,  sec  Pluiella 

cruciferarum 
Dicraniira  vinula,  Linn.,  103  (Fig.) 
Diptera,  Westwood's  use  of  "  In- 

sccta  Britannica— Diptera,"  136 
Dipterous  parasites,  107 
Dogs  as  message-bearers,  1 1 ;  Miss 

Ormerod's  adventures  with,  92 
Dolphin,  Bottle-nosed  {DelpJiinus 

tursio),  38 
Druce's,    Mr.,   proposed    vote    of 

congratulation,  300 
Drawnigs  and  water-colours,  set 

of  Dr.  George  Ormerod's,  298, 

300,  301 
Dunn,  Malcolm,  assistance  of,  61 
Dunnock,  the  hedge-sparrow,  Ac- 
centor inodularis,  162 
Durobrivian  ware,  8 
Dyer,    Professor    Bernard,    as    a 

helper,  200 
Dytiscus  marginalis,  water  beetle, 

54,  124  (Fig.) 

E 

Earwig,  see  Forficula 

Edinburgh  University,  bequest  to, 
283, 284,  285  ;  text-book  for,  303  ; 
Miss  Ormerod  appointed  exter- 
nal examiner  in  Agricultural 
Entomology,  123 

Eel-worms,  186,  198,  282,  304 

Electros  bought  from  Messrs. 
Blackie  &  Son,  63 

Elliot  &  Fry's  portraits,  300 

Elm-bark  beetle,  see  Scolytus  de- 
structor, 169,  170  (Fig.) 

Entomological  Society  of  Ontario, 

73 
Entomological  Societies,  Miss  Or- 
merod's  communications  with, 

78 
Entomologist,   consulting,  to  the 


i 


INDEX 


341 


Royal  Agricultural  Society  of 
England,  75 

Entomology,  Miss  Ormerod  be- 
ginning the  study  of,  53  ;  first 
step  in,  2 ;  lectures  on,  in  Edin- 
burgh, 279 

Entomology,  economic,  progress 
of,  206 

Epiiesiia  kuhnicUa,  Zell,  180,  198, 
202,  212,  262,  263 

Evans,  Mrs.,  91 

Evesham  Committee  work,  204 

Evolution,  Professor  Riley  on,  335 

Exhibition  in  the  Palace  of  In- 
dustry, Paris,  August,  1868,  54 

Exoascus  pnuii,  Professor  Mar- 
shall Ward  on,  175 

Exorista  lota,  parasite  of  Lepi- 
doptera,  107 


Forest  Peninsula,  33,  34 

"  Forestry,"  text-book  of,  proposed, 

227,  303 
Forficula   minor,    Linn.   (Earwig) 

189  (Fig.) 
"  Formalin,"  220 
Formica  fuUginosa,  138,  139 
Forshawand  Hawkins,Messrs.,266 
Fowler    (Canon)    on     HelopJwrus 

rugosus,  108,  267 
Fream,    Dr.,    references    to,   203, 

208,   279,    281,    282,    298,    305, 

317 
Frost   and   other    leaders    of   the 

Chartist    rising    in   Monmouth, 

47-52 
Fruitgrowers'  Convention,  206 
Fucus  serratus,  34 
Fuller,  Mr.,  267  ;  letters  to,  257 


Family  dispersal,  56 

"  Famine  in  India,"  by  Wallace,  308 

"  Farm  Insects,"  by  Curtis,  184 

"  Farm  Pests,"  leaflets  on,  65 

Farm  stock,  fly  attacks  on,  65,  304 

Fernald,  Dr.,  187 

Ferry,  Old  Passage,  38,  44,  45,  50 

Fielding,  Copley,  16 

Finger  and    toe,   see    Plasmodio- 

fhora  brassiccB 
"  Flacherie,"  the,  106,  107,  186 
Flat  worm,  192 
"  Flax  seeds,"  131,  142,  197 
Fletcher,  Dr.,  188  ;  letters  to,  77, 

116,  195-227 
"  Flies   injurious  to  Stock,"  Miss 

Ormerod's,  65,  305 
Flour-beetle,     rust-red,    see     Tri- 

bolium  ferrugineum 
Flour  infestation,  69,  179,  191,  220, 

261,  263,  266 
"  Flowering,"  or  Palm,  Sunday,  25 
Fly  weevil  (U.S.A.),  188 
Font  (leaden)  at  Llancaut,  20  ;  at 

Tidenham,  PI.  vii. 
Fonts  (leaden),  A.  C.  Fryer's  paper 

on,  in  ArchcBol.  Journal,  20 
Foot,  Hippoboscal,  Pis.  xxiii.,  xxiv. 
Forest  fly,  65,  133,  134  (Fig.),  138, 

i39»  304 
Forest  flies,  Indian,  224 
Forest  Hundreds,  33 
Forest  of  Dean,  33 


Gadflies  {Tabanidce),  118,  137,  138, 

304^  306 
Gamma  or  silver  moth,  178  (Fig.) 
Gardener,  an  old,  on  Miss  Orme- 
rod's work,  75 
"  Gardeners'  Chronicle,"  54, 55,  276 
"Gardeners'    Friends  and    Foes," 

series  of  diagrams,  88 
Garton  course  of  lectures,  Edin- 
burgh University,  118,  208 
Garton,  John,  298,  303 
Gas  lime  as  a  top  dressing,  195 
Gastropacha  quercifolia,  Linn.,  158 
Gastrophilus  equi,  Fab.,  117  (Fig.), 

118,305 
Gawsworth,  Cheshire,  12 
Generosity,  Dr.  Lipscomb  on  Miss 

Ormerod's,  94 
Geophilus    longicornis,    Centipede, 

235  (Fig.) 
George,  A.  W.,  letter  to,  174 
Gibbs,  Sir  Brandreth,  76 
Gilbert,  Sir  Henry  and  Lady,  298 
Gnat  midge,  see  Cecidomyia  legu- 

minicola 
Goat  moth,  see  Cossus  ligniperda 
Golynrode,  10 
Goodall  on  Tabanida;,  138 
Gooseberry  red  spider,  see  Bryobia 

prcstiosa 
Gout  fly,  see  Chlorops  tcsniopus 
Grain  beetles,  see  Calandra  {SitO' 

philus)  granaria 


342 


INDEX 


Granary    weevil,     see     Calandra 

granaria 
Grant,  Sir  Ludovic,  96,  291,  303 
Grease-banding,  207,  277 
Grease-proof  paper,  277 
Great  ash-bark  beetle,  172  (Fig.) 
Great  midge,  "  red  maggot  of,"  137 
Great  ox  gad  fly,  135,  136 
Great  tortoiseshell    butterfly,   see 

Vanessa  folychloros 
Grimshaw,  Percy  H.,  108  ;  letters 

from,  149,  151 
Grimthorpe,    Lord,    letter    from, 

297,  298,  308 
Grouse  fly,  see  Ornithomyia 
"  Guide  to  the  Methods  of  Insect 

Life,"  Miss  Ormerod's,  81,  85 
Gulls,  see  Larus  ridibundus   and 

L.  canus 

H 

Hacking,  10 

Hcemutobia  connicola,  213 

HcEmatofota  pliivialis,  136 

"  Hair-worms,"  225 

"  Handbook  of   Orchard   Fruits," 

Miss  Ormerod's,  303 
Hargreaves,  Col.  John,  8 
Harker,  Professor  Allen,  references 

to,  79,  80,  201,  277,  278,  279,  281 
Harpalus    ruficornis,     Bat-beetle, 

223  (Fig.) 
Hartwell,   Miss,   Miss   Ormerod's 

private  secretary,  88, 280, 289, 291 
Heart-and-dart  moth,  see  Agroiis  \ 

exclamaiionis  I 

Heather  "frosted,"  149  ' 

Helophorus  rugosus,  108 
Henry  VI.  Coronation,  58,  PI.  xviii. 
Hessian  fly,  74,  129,  131,  132,  142, 

143,  147,  148,  182,  see  Cecidomyia 

destructor',  Miss  Ormerod  on,  86 
Heierodera  schachtii,  186  ;  H.  radi- 

cicola,  Miiller,  213  (Fig.) 
Hibernation  of  insects,  226  J 

*'  Hill  grub,"  the,  104,  105  (Fig.)        \ 
Hippobosca  equina,   133,   134,  136, 

137,  138, 140,  265  (foot  of  fly,  Pis. 

xxiii.,  xxiv.)  ;  H.  maculata,  139 
Hippoboscid  on  a  lamb,  264 
Hooker,  Sir  Joseph  and  Lady,  73, 74  ! 
Hoopoe,  the,  139  | 

Hop  aphis,  206  j 

Hope  Professorship  of  Zoology  at  '. 

Oxford,  215  i 


[  Hops,  nettle-headed,  237 
I   Hornet,  capture  of,  92 
I   "  Hornet  Clear  wing,"    Trochilium 
(=.Sesia)  bembeciforme,  103 
Horse   bot  fly,  Gastrophilus  equi, 
Fab.,  117  (Fig.),  118,305 
'   Horses'  iflness  after  eating  locust- 
:       infested  lucerne,  228,  229 
;   Horticultural  Society  (Royal),  col- 
I       lection  of  injurious  insects,  55 
i   Howard,  Dr.  L.  O.,  letters  to  and 
from,  184-194,  295,  297 
Hulgreve  Hall,  58 
Hunt,  the  artist,  16 
Huntspill,  Somerset,  10 
Huxley,  Professor,  78 ;  letters  from, 

85,88 
Hybernia  defoliaria,  146 
Hydrophobia,   strange    treatment 

for,  45 
Hylesinus  crenatus  (large  ash-bark 
beetle),    172    (Fig.),    173,    302  ; 
tunnels,  173  (Fig.) 
Hylesinus  fraxini,  ash-bark  beetle, 

171,  174  ;  tunnels,  171  (Fig.) 
Hylurgus piniperda,  pine  beetle,  263 
Hymenoptei'a,  174 
Hypoderma,  bovis  and  H.  diana, 
150;    H.   lineata,    116;    H.   or 
(Estrus  experiments,  183 

I 

Icerya  purcJiasi,  79 
Ichthyosaurus,  41 
Index  to  Reports,  64,  191 
"Indian  Agriculture,"   Wallace's, 

275 

Inscription  on  Llancaut  font,  22 

"Insect  Life,"  201,  267 

Insect,  Professor  Westwood's  de- 
finition of,  84 

"Insects  Injurious  to  Forest 
Trees,"  302 ;  "  to  Orchard  and 
Bush  Fruit,"  274;  "to  Stored 
Grain,"  191 

Isle  worth,  73  ;  meteorology,  80 

J 
Jablonowski,Prof .  Jos.,  on  Phytoptiis 

ribis,  156  ;  letters  to,  156 
Jacobite  officers,  11 
Janson's  reports,  Mr.  Oliver  E.,  71, 

72,  200,  283  ;  letters  to,  259-271 


INDEX 


343 


Jenkins,    Mr.    H.    M.,    Secretary 

R.A.S.E.,  76 
Johnson,  Thomas,  survivors  of  the 

children  of,  11 
yulus      guttatus      (=  pulchelhis), 

Leach ;   y.  londinensis ;  J.  ter- 

restris,  143  (Fig.) 
Juncus  articulatiis,  the  flowering 

heads  of,  or  "spret,"  104 

K 

Ked  or  Kade,  see  Melophagus  ovinus 
Kerosene  as  an   insecticide,  120, 

181,  220 
Kew  Gardens,  73,  86 
King  and  Queen,  122 
King  George    and    King    James, 

toasts  to,  1 1 
Kingston  Park,  old  name  of  Sed- 

bury  Park,  7 
Knox,  John,  quotation  from,  no 


Labia  minor,  Leach,  189  (Fig.) 
Lady-bird,  Australian,  334 
Lady-bird,  see  Cocci nella 
Lamophlceiis  ferrugineus,  263 
Lamarckism,  335 
Lamellicornes,  beetle  grubs  of  the, 

277 
Languages,  Miss  Ormerod's  know- 
ledge of,  78 
Lappet    Moth,     see     Gastropacha 

quercifolia,  Linn. 
Lams  ridibundus  3.nd  L.  can iis,  105 
Latham,  Diana,  on  Sedbury,  14-19 
Latham,  John,  M.D.,  12,  PI.  iv.,  57 
Latham,  Peter  Mere,  13,  57 
Lathy nis  (White),  221 
"  Leaden   Fonts,"   20 ;    Alfred   C. 

Fryer  on,  20 
"Leafage  caterpillars,"  146 
Lecaniuni  ribis,  Fitch,  214 
Lecture  at  Institute  of  Agriculture, 
South     Kensington,    Miss     Or- 
merod's, 84 ;  at  London  Farmers' 
Club,  102 
Lecturer,  Miss  Ormerod  as  a,  on 
Economic  Entomology,  at  Royal 
College,  Cirencester,  83 
Lectures,  ten,  by  Miss  Ormerod, 

on  "  Orders  of  Insects,"  85 
Lee-chee  (lichi)  orchards,  308 


Legal    experiences,     samples    of 

Miss  Ormerod's,  69 
Lepidoptera,  American  lists  of,  181 
Lesser    earwig,    Forficula    minor, 

189  (Fig.) ;  261 
Lesson  book  for  village  schools,  207 
Letter    or    letters    from   William 
Bailey,       102;      Dr.       Ritzema 
Bos,     296;     Dr.    Fream,    298; 
Lord     Grimthorpe,     296  ;      Sir 
Joseph     Hooker,    87  ;     L.     O. 
Howard,  295,  297  ;  T.  H.  Hux- 
ley, 85  ;   J.  A.    Lintner,  81-82  ; 
Dr.  R.  S.  MacDougall,  295  ;  Sir 
William  Muir,  301  ;  Rev.  Prof. 
Taylor,  310  ;  Professor  W^allace, 
287-293  ;  J.  O.  Westwood,  81 
Letter  or  letters  to  William  Bailey, 
109-127  ;  Rev.  C.  J.  S.  Bethunc, 
227-231;  Dr.  Ritzema  Bos,  232- 
:       237 ;  Messrs.  Coleman,  177-178  ; 
E.  T.  Connold,  175-177  ;  Colonel 
Coussmaker,    99-104 ;     Dr.     J. 
Fletcher,       195-227  ;       Claude 
Fuller,    257  ;    A.    W.    George, 
174;     D.    D.    Gibb,     128-148; 
j       P.  H.Grimshaw,  149-151  ;  L.  O. 
I       Howard,  184-194  ;  C.  P.  Louns- 
bury,  252-257  ;  Rev.  John  Martin, 
169-174;  J.  C.  Medd,  271-274; 
Dr.  A.  Nalepa,  247-252  ;  Dr.  E. 
Renter,    244-247  ;    Dr.   W.   M. 
Schoyen,  237-243  ;  Robert  Ser- 
vice, 106-8  ;  W.  B.  Tegetmeier, 
159-168 ;     Professor     Wallace, 
275-325  ;   C.    D.  Wise,  151-159 
Letters,  destruction  of,  97 
Leiicania  nnipunctata,  185 
Lias,  frontage  of,  40,  41 
*'  Licked"  beef,  116 
Limna'a  truncatula,  144 
Limnepliilus  Jiavicornis,  152 
Lindeman,  Dr.,  197,  209,  212,  263 
Lintner,  Dr.,  207;  letters  from,  81, 

82 
Lipoptera  cervi,  Von  Siebold  and 
Loew,  140  (Fig.),  141  (I^'ig)*  180, 
259,265 
Lipoptera  or  Lipoptcna,  confusion 

between,  140 
Lipscomb,  Dr.  Eustace,  194,  290, 
293,  294,  322,  324;  on  beneiits 
of  Miss  Ormerod's  work,  75 
'  Lithobius  forficatus,   "thirty-foot," 
235 


344 


INDEX 


Little,  Professor  Herbert,  76,  no, 

279 
Llancaut  Church,  21,  PI.  viii. 
LL.D.  of  Edinburgh  University,  95, 

193,  287,289;  letters  on,  294-297 
Loch  Dungeon,  104 
Locust,  capture  of  a  strange,  53 
Locust,  South  American  migratory, 

sec  Sdiistocerca  paranensis  (Fig.) 
Locusts,  144,  214,  218,  229 
London,  annual  visit  to,  16 
London  Farmers'  Club,  lectures, 

102,  299;  request,  no;  resolu- 
tion, 300 
London  purple,  183,  205 
"  Loopers,"  121,  146 
Lords  of  Committee  of  Education 

invite  Miss  Ormerod  to  advise 

them,  87 
Loudon's  "Arboretum,"  103 
Lounsbury,  C.  P.,  118,  187;  letters 

to  and  from,  193,  252 
Loyalty,  Miss  Ormerod's,  94 
"  Lyde,  the,"  35 
Lyell,   Sir   Charles,   on  the   Aust 

"  Bone  Bed,"  40 

M 

"  Mabie  Moss,"   noui  dc  plume  of 

K.  Service,  104,  106 
MacDougall,  Dr.,  227,  291, 295, 302, 

303  ;   as   a   colleague,  302,  303, 

307>  317*  322,  323 
Magpie  moth,  Currant  and  goose- 
berry, see  Abraxas  grossulariaia 
Mail  coach.  Pis.  xii.,  xiv. 
Mails,  the  Newport,  50 
Man,  Dr.  de,  79 
Mangold    attacked    by   Atomana 

linearis,  230 
"  Manual    of    Injurious    Insects," 

Miss  Ormerod's,  65,  276,  300 
Martin,Rev.John,letters  to,  169-174 
Mayer,  Rev,  Peter,  12 
McEwan  Hall,  the,  292 
Meade,  Mr.,  of  Bradford,  107,  205 
Medals  and  Miss  Ormerod's  other 

pubhc  distinctions,   95 ;  key  to, 

98,  PI.  xxii. 
Medd,  Mr.,  259  ;   letters   to,  271- 

274  ;  letter   to   on  the  Warble 

question,  116 
Mediterranean     flour     moth,    see 

Ephestia  kiihniella 


'  Melolontha    vulgaris,    cockchafer 
209,  233  (Fig.) 
Mclopliagus  oviiius,  Linn.,  141  (Fig.) 
Mennis,  186  ;  albicans,  io6 
Merodon  narcissi,  Fab.,  157,  158 
Mcromyza,  276 
Meteorological     observations     at 

Isleworth,  80  ;  station,  PI.  xx. 
Miana,  186 

Micrococcus  bombycis,  106 
Midge,  great,  137 
Mik,  Professor,  on   Tabanida%  20, 
138  ;  on  Deer  Forest  fly,  261  ; 
j       decease  of,  271 
i  Mill  Moth,  see  Epliesiia  kuhniclla 
'  Millepede,  143  (Fig.) 
Mite,  see  Phytoptus 
Modelling  in  plaster  of  Paris,  Miss 

Ormerod's  taste  for,  95 
Moles  at  strawberry  roots,  153 
Morris,  Little  and  Son's  emulsion, 

121 
Mormonia  nigromaculata,  152  (Fig.) 
Mosley's   models   and    figures   of 

insects,  279 
Mottled  Umber  moth,  see  Hybernia 

defoliaria 
Muir,  Sir  William,  284,  285,  298  ; 
!       letter  from,  301 
I  Murray,    Mr.   Andrew,   secretary, 
i       Royal  Horticultural  Society,  75 
Murray,  Mr.  John,  xx,  315,  319,  325 
Murtfeldt,  Miss,  256 
Music,  Miss  Ormerod's  knowledge 

0^.95 
Mustard  beetle,  sec  Phcedon  belulcs 


N 

Nalepa,  Dr.,   letters   to,  247  ;   on 
the       PhyioptidcB,      155,      218 ; 
publications  of,  176 
Narcissus  fly,  157 
"  Nature  Knowledge,''  306 
"  Nature  Study,"  Mr.  Medd's,  259 
Needlework,  Miss  Ormerod's  skill 

in,  95 
Newman,  Mr.  T.  P.,  309,  325 
Newstead,  Mr.  Robert,  64,  68,  84, 

310 
Nipius  hololeucus,  262 
Nixon,  Mr.,  145 
Norman's  microscopic  slides,  Mr., 

264,  265,  267 
Nostril  fly,  of  sheep,  304 


INDEX 


345 


O 

Oak,  "Ap  Adam,"  and  ''Hedge- 
hog," PI.  xxi.,  93 

Oak-leaf  roller  moth,  Torthx 
viridaiia,  145 

Oak-leaf  seaweed  {Del esse ria),  39 

Oak-trees  injured  by  caterpillars, 
222 

Observations,  Miss  Ormerod's 
arrangement  of,  60,  61 

CEstrida',  118,  283 

(Eslrus  ovis,  76  (Fig.) 

"Offa's  Dyke,"  18 

Oilcakes  and  granary  weevil,  262 

OJigotrophiis  alopecuri,  244 

Ontario    Entomological     Society, 

73 

"  Orchard  and  bush  fruits, 
Handbook  of  insects  injurious 
to,"  Miss  Ormerod's,  229 

Orchard  growers,  experimental 
committee  of,  183 

Ormerod,  Arthur,  57  ;  theM.D.,291 

Ormerod,  Charlotte  Anne,  8 

Ormerod,  E.  L.,  M.D.,  author  of 
"  British  Social  Wasps,"  9,  57, 93 

Ormerod,  Eleanor  Anne,  birth, 
childhood,  and  education,  1-6; 
fondness  for  animals,  7 ;  re- 
ligious experiences,  27  ;  bio- 
graphical sketch,  73-97;  courage, 
92-93  ;  kindness  to  servants,  94  ; 
medals.  97  ;  death,  325 ;  retire- 
ment, 328 ;  portraits,  frontis- 
piece, Pis.  XX.,  xxix. 

Ormerod,  George,  D.C.L.,  LL.D., 
author  of  "  History  of  the 
County  Palatine  and  City  of 
Chester,"  8,  11,  18,  19,  23,  28,  53, 
56,  57,  Pis.  ii.,  iii.,  xxx. 

Ormerod,  Mrs.  George,  3,  PI.  iii. 

Ormerod,  Georgiana,  i,  3,  4,  5,  6, 
16,  17,  18,  30,  73,  PI.  xxvii. 

Ormerod,  Rev.  G.  T.  B.,  57 

Ormerod,  Henry  Mere,  34,  58 

Ormerod,  John  Arderne,  13,  57 

Ormerod,  Laurence,  8 

Ormerod,  Oliver,  9 

Ormerod,  Thomas  Johnson,  57 

Ormerod,  Wareing,  58 

Ormerod,  William,  57 

Ormerod  demesne  and  mansion, 
8,  PL  xxviii. 

Ormerod    family,    decent     from 


Edward  I.,  13;  branches  of,  8-9  ; 

dispersal  of,  56 
Oniithomyia      avicularia,       Linn. 

(Grouse  fly),  264,  265  (Fig.) 
Osmia  (Mason  bee),  174 
Ostrich  parasite,  196 
"Our  Programme''  leaflet,  272 
Owen,   Professor    Richard,  report 

on  an  Ichthyosaurus,  41 
Oxford,  Port  Fellowship,   13,  57; 

Tractarian  Movement,  28 


Padiua,  Pavonea,  39 

Palm      Sunday,     or     "Flowering 

Sunday,"  25 
"Papist,"  "The  picture  of  a,"  10 
Paraffin,  181 

Parasites  of  Lepidoptera,  107,  108 
Parasites  of  silkworm,  106 
"  Parentalia,"    Dr.  George   Orme^ 

rod's,  9,  13 
"  Paris  green,"   153,  183,  201  ;  as 

an    insecticide,    203,    204,    205, 

206  ;  pamphlets  on,  207,  208 
Passer  domesticus,  159, 160  (Fig.),  188 
Passer  montanus,  162  (Fig.) 
Pea- weevil,  see  Sitoiies 
Peacock  seaweed  {Padinapavonea), 

39 
Pension       proposed      for       Miss 

Ormerod,  322 
Plicsdon  betulce,  215  (Fig.) 
Philips,    Sir    Thomas,   mayor    of 

Newport,  50 
Photographs    of    Miss    Ormerod, 

227,  300,  302 
Phylloxera,  155,  210 
Phytoptida',  250 
Phytoptus  galls,  177 
Phytoptus  pyri,  249  (Fig.) 
Phytoptus  ribis,  153,  156,  251  (Fig.) 
Pillischer's  preparations,  261 
Pine  beetle  attack,  263,  264,  285 
Piophila   casei,    Linn.,    125   (Fig.), 

256,  265 
Plagiarism,  prevention  of,  62 
Plan  of  work.  Miss  Ormerod's,  78,90 
Plasmodiophora  brassicce,  213 
Plum-wood,  Shot-borers  from,  200 
Plusia  gamma,  Linn.,  178  (Fig.) 
Plutella  cruciferarum,  130,  210,  211 

(Fig.) 
Polydesmus  complanatus,  143  (Fig.) 


346 


INDEX 


Port   Fellowship,  Brasenose  Col- 
lege, 13,  57 
"  Post-horn  "  beetle  attack,  224 
Potter,  Professor  M.  C,  144 
".Proceedings  of  the  Convention 

of  Fruit  Growers,"  206 
Ptinus,  263 

Pupation  of  butterflies,  334 
"  Puritan,"  "The  picture  of  a,"  10 
Puss  moth,  see  Dicranura  vinula 
Putcher  for  catching  salmon,  36, 

327*  328 
"  Putts  "  or  "  putchers,"  36  (Fig.) 
Pyrethrum,  216 


"Quasi  Cursores,"  Hole's,  308,  311 

R  i 

Rabies,  an  instance  of,  92  ' 

Railway  travelling,  46 
Rassam,  Mr.  Hormuzd,  205 
Red-currant  mite,  157  see  Phytoptus 
Redenhall-cum-Harleston,  57 
"  Red  spider,"  145,  221  (Fig.),  300 
Redwater  "tick,"  193 
Reports  (annual),  plan  of  prepara- 
tions, 78  ;  discontinued,  66 
Retinia  buoUana,  "  Post  Horn,"  224 
Renter,  Dr.,  letters  to,  244 
Ribes  nigrum,  156 
Ribes  rubruni,  157 
Rice  weevil,  see  Calandra  oryzcs 
Riley,  Professor,  78,  80  ;  letters  to, 

179-184 ;    resignation    of,    221, 

223  ;  sketch  of,  332,  app. 
Ritzema  Bos,  see  Bos 
Roberts,  Margaret,  17 
Roman  coins  found  near  the  Severn 

Cliffs,  174 ;  military  station,  7  ; 

pottery,  8,  174  ;  PI.  xi. 
Rothamsted,  203,  217,  298  ; 

Roundell,     Charles,    the    "  Rural  I 

Reader,"  273  ; 

Rural  Economy,  Sibthorpian  Pro- 

fessor  of,  at  Oxford,  225 
"  Ruricola,"    nom  de  plume  of  J. 

Curtis,  184 
Rust-red  flour  beetle,  see  Tribolium 

ferruginetim  \ 

I 

S  I 

Saddle    fly,    Cecidomyia   {Diplosis)  \ 

cqiiestris,  12"J  (Fig.f  ] 

St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital,  57        | 


Salix  caprea,  103 

Salmon-fishing  on  the  Severn,  36 
Samian  cup,  175 
San  Jose  schIq,  see  Aspidiotus  penii- 

ciosiis 
Sap-wood  beetle,  see  Scolytiis  pruni 
Saurian  remains,  41,  PI.  xi. 
Scale  insects,  242,  257 
Scarabaeid  beetles  (rare),  222 
Schaiimerde,  a  sugar  by-product, 

236 
"  Scheele's-green,"  201 
Schisiocerca  paranensis,  229  (Fig.) 
Schizoneura       lanigera,       Hausm, 

American  blight,  142,  143,  144 

Schools,  coloured  diagrams  for 
elementary,  99  ;  see  Diagrams 

Schoyen,  Dr.,  letters  to,  237-239 ; 
notes  on  wasps  from,  218 

Science  and  Art  Department,  in- 
vited to  help,  87  ;  diagrams  for, 
88  ;  official  plagiarism,  88 

Scolytus  desinidor,  Oliv.,  169,  170 
(Fig.) ;  5.  pritni,  Ratz.,  270,  271 

,  (Fig-) 
Seaweeds,  39 

Sedbury  Park,  7,  14-19  ;  remini- 
scences of,  15  ;  routine  of  life  at, 

17,  PI.  i. 
Servants,  Miss  Ormerod's  kindly 

treatment  of,  94 
Service,  Mr.  Robert,  letter  to,  99  ; 

notes  by,  104,  105 
Sesia  bembeciformis,  see  Trochllimn 
Seth,  Professor,  letter  from,  303 
Severn  and  Wye,  the,  33,  PI.  ix. 
Severn,  cliffs,  PI.  x. ;  colour  of,  35, 

41  ;  shipping  of,  36 
"Shag"  or  "  Chog,"  197 
Sheep   spider  fly,  or  "  ked,"   141 

(Fig.) ;  nostril  fly,  304,  305  ;  see 

Melophagus 
"  Sheep  Scab,"  paper  on,  299,  306 
Shell-(snail)-slug,  191  (Fig.),  192 
Shells,  Miss  Georgiana  Ormerod's 

love  for,  3 
Shot-borer,  see  Xyleborus  dispar 
Signoret's,  Dr.,  opinion,  79 
Silk,  moths  injuring,  219 
Silpha  opaca,  Linn.,  142  (Fig.) 
sup Ji  ides,  219 
"  Silver-top  "  wheat,  197 
Simpson,  Mr.  Wm.,  letter  from,  72 
Sirex  juvencus,  81  ;  S.  gigas,  81 


INDEX 


347 


Siiones  (pea-weevil),  226 

Sitophilus  granariiis,  262  ;  S.  oryzce, 
262 

Sitotroga  {Gelccliia)  cercalella,  188 

"  Slime"  fungus,  213 

Smirke,  Sir  Robert,  7 

Smith  and  Co.'s  flour,  Messrs.,  266 

Smith,  John  B.,  257 

Smith,  Sir  Robert  Murdoch,  refer- 
ence to,  284 

Snail-slug,  191  (Fig.),  192 

Snellen,  Mr.,  on  "Great"  and 
"  Small "  tortoiseshell  butterflies, 

131 

Sparrow,  Hedge,  162 

Sparrow,  House,  Passer  domesticiis, 
i6o-i68,  160  (Fig.) 

Sparrow  leaflet,  163,  166, 167,  225  ; 
extract  from,  164 

"  Sparrow,  Spare  the,"  165 

"Sparrow,  The  House,"  Teget- 
meier's,  167,  168 

Sparrow,  Tree,  Passer  uiontanus, 
162  (Fig.) 

Sparrows,  repeal  of  laws  in  America 
protecting,  161 

"  Spider  "  fly,  304 

"Spinach  moth,"  231 

"Splint,"  a  sap-wood  beetle, 
Scolytus  prnni,  271  (Fig.) 

Sprayers,  208 

Spret,  Jimciis  articulatus,  104 

St.  Alban's  Show,  Prince  and 
Princess  of  Wales  at,  123 ; 
exhibit  for,  123 

Stebbing,  E.  P.,  307 

Stein,  or  Hartman  quoted  by  Stein, 
260 

Stem  eel-worms,  209  (Fig.) 

Steven  lecturer,  on  Agricultural 
Entomology  in  Edinburgh  Uni- 
versity, 282,  see  Fream,  Dr. 

Stewart's,  Prince  Charles,  march 
to  Manchester,  10 

St.  Petersburg  International  Ex- 
hibition, 19 

Stock  flies,  304,  307 

Strathconan  Deer  Forest  flies,  260, 
261 

Strawberries,  moles  at,  153  ;  eel 
worms  at,  204  ;  beetles  at,  223 

Strigul,  ancient  name  of  Chep- 
stow, 8 

"  Strigulensia,"  George  Ormerod's, 
7,21 


I   Subpoena,  a,  69 
Suff  erings,political,  of  "  Tyldesley  " 
in  1745,  10 

T 

TabanidcB,  138,  141,  145,  150 
Tabanus  autiimnalis,  136;  bovinus, 

Linn.,  135  (Fig.),  136 
Tachina  fly,  106  ;  larvae,  186 
Taschenberg's,    Dr.,  "Die    Prak- 

tische  Insektenkunde,"  277 
Taylor,  Dr.,  284  ;  letter  from,  310 
Tecla,  St.,  chapel  of,  33 
Tegetmeier,  Mr.,  letters  to,  159-168 
Tenebrioides  mauritauiciis,  70 
Teriacus,  Tecla,  or  Treacle,  Saint, 

33 
Testacella  haliotidea,  Draparnaud, 

i       shell-slug,  191  (Fig.),  192 

I  Texas  fever,  193,  257 

I  Thackeray,  death  of  Mrs.,  6 

i  "Thrips,"  185,  197 
Thursby,  John  Ormerod  Scarlett,  9 
Thursby,  Rev.  William,  9 
Thursby,  Sir  John  Hardy,  9 
Thysanoptera,  185 
Ticks    causing    "  redwater,"    193, 

Tidenham  church,  18,  21,  22,  24, 

25,  26,  29,  PI.  vii. 
Timberman  beetle,  224  (Fig.) 
Time-table,  mail  coach,  44 
Tintern  Abbey,  PI.  v. 
:   Tip  Ilia,  daddy  longlegs  or  crane 
fly,  64,  284 
Toasts  of  the  rival  kings,  1 1 
Toddington    Experimental    Com- 
mittee, 201,  203,  204,  207,  248, 
277,  333 
Tomato  root-knot  eel- worm,  213 

(Fig.),  214 
Torquay,  73 

Torrington  House,  St.  Albans,  19, 
73,    PI.    xxiv.  ;    an  "  at  home " 
at,  86 
Tortoiseshell  butterflies,  129,  131 
Tortrix  viridana,  145,  (Fig.)  146 
Townhead  Farm,  Closeburn,  Dum- 
friesshire, 104 
Transportation  of  wingless  females 

by  winged  males,  183 
Travelling  in  olden  times,  43-46 
Treacle,  or  Tryacle,  Island,  33 
Tribolium  fcrriigineiim,   Fab.,   70, 
72,  266  (Fig.) 


348 


INDEX 


Trinity  College  School,  Port  Hope, 

Canada,  destruction  of  by  fire,  227 

Triton   cristatus,    Miss   Ormerod's 

paper  on,  59 
Trochilium  bemhcciforinc,  103 
Trogosiia  maiiriianica,  70,  72 
Trout  crammed  with  "hillgrub," 

105 
"  Tulip  root,"  65,  209  (Fig.) 
Turnip  caterpillars,  10 1  ;  fly  or  flea 
beetle,  76  ;   mud  beetle  (Helo- 
phorusrugosus),  108  ;  saw  fly,  211 
Tyldesley,  i,  7,  10 
Tylenchiis  dcvastatrix,  79,  190,  209 
(Fig.) ;  attacking  clover,  226 


Vanessa  poly chloros,  Great  Tortoise- 
shell  butterfly,  129  (Fig.),  130, 186 

"Venus"  shells,  40 

Verney,  Sir  Harry,  121 

Verrall's  List  of  British  Diptera,  157 

Vere  Street  Chapel,  London, 
preachers  at,  26,  27 

Voelcker,  Dr.  A.,  on  gas-lime,  195 

Voles,  report  on,  104 

W 

Wales,    Prince  and    Princess   of, 

123,  124 
Wallace,    Professor,   an   ally  and 

friend,  227  ;  letters  to,  275-325 
Wallace,  Dr.  Quintin,  M.A.,  death 

of,  281 
Warble  fly,  see  Hypodcrma  hovis 
Ward,  Mr.,  125 
Warington,  Professor,  Sibthorpian 

lecturer,  225,  298 
Wasps,  17.  218,  220,  273 
"Wasps,      British      Social,"      by 

Dr.  E.  L.  Ormerod,  93 
Wasp's  nest,  241  (Fig.) 
Watercresses  attacked  by  Caddis 

worms,  151,  282 
Waterloo,  news  of  battle  of,  31 
Waterloo  Station,  accident  at,  77 
"Water-moth,"  see  Mormonia  ni- 

gromaciilata 
Water-snails,  144 
Weed  seed  for  adulterating  im- 
ports, 276 
Weevil,   see  Bmchiis,    injuries    to 

bean  and  pea  seed,  143 
Weevils  in  flour,  72,  262 


Westminster,   Mr.   Bailey's  corre- 
spondence with  the  Duke  of,  1 1 1 
West,  Newman  &  Co.,  Messrs.,  277, 

302 
Westwood,  Professor,  78,  80,  205, 

279,  280  ;  letter  from,  81 
Whalley,  Whitaker's  history  of,  8 
Whateley,  Archbishop,  27 
Wheat  cleaning,  275  ;  "  silver-top  " 
or   "white   eared,"  197  ;   wheat 
with    Hessian   fly   maggot,    131 

(i^^ig-) 
Whipple's  experiment  with  larvae, 

211 
White  ants  destroying  cocoa  trees, 

268 
Whitehead,  Mr.  Charles,  76 
Wild  tribes  of  India,  309 
William  IV.,  i 

WiUiam  of  Worcester  quoted,  34 
Willow  weevil,  267 
Winter  moth,  146  (Fig.),  traps,  183  ; 

see  Cheimatobia 
Wire  worm,  206 
Wise,  letters  to  Mr.,  151,  152 
Woburn  report  on  mite-galls,  157  ; 

Experimental  Fruit  Grounds,  226 
Wood     leopard     moth      {Zeuzera 

asciili),  102  (Fig.) 
Woolastone,  22 
W^oolly  aphis,  144 
Work,  plan  of  Miss  Ormerod's,  78 
Writing,    Miss    Ormerod's    early 

love  for,  2  ;  specimen  of,  89 
Wye,  free  railway  passage  over, 

208  ;  map   of   lower  valley,  PI. 

ix.  ;  railway  bridge  on,  PI.  xxvi. 
i 

I  X 

Xylcborus   dispar,   Fab.,   182,   198, 

''199  (Fig.),  331  (App.) 
Xyleboi'us  pyri,  198 
Xylcborus  saxescni,  188,  263 


Yeats,   Dr.   John,   on   saurian   re- 
mains, 41 

Z 

Zeuzera  asculi,  Linn.,  102  (Fig.) 
Zimmermann,     A.,      trials      with 

"formalin,"  220 
Zoology,  Dr.  Claus'  text-book  of,276 
Zoology,    Hope  Professorship   of, 

at  Oxford,  280 


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